According to Him
by xKanonymous
Summary: Nagi and Rima have never been friends, and they've also never been enemies. But when Rima is pregnant with someone else's child, how will this effect them? According to him, nothing would matter at all. *AU- collab*
1. Results

**Daisy: Hey, guys! It's me, again! Oh. Em. Gee. Don't shoot me, please. I know I have too many stories as it is, but I'm doing one of my first collabs! With AlmostScriptophobic. This is our story. Right, Taiga-chan?**

**Taiga: Damn straight. And it was my idea, too. **

**Rose: AlmostScriptophobic and DaisyDancer112 have worked really hard on this story, and we would like you to read it and review it.**

**Taiga: Yep, Rose is right, as usual.**

**Rose: xD ... As usual? Yeah right. Anyways, Daisy-chan and Taiga-chan own nothing! Nothing mentioned in this chapter or in any other chapter, and definitely not Shugo Chara.**

**Taiga: Because if we did, Nagi would've already kissed Rima.**

**Daisy: And I would've raped Ikuto!**

**Rose & Taiga: O.O**

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[**A** _w_ol**f **_n_ev**e**_r_ ca**u**_g_ht **s**_u_ch **a **_r_abb**i**_t_, **a**_s_ gol**d**_e_n h**a**_i_r n**e**_v_er **t**_u_rn**e**_d_ gre**y** _w_it**h** _g_ri**e**_f_.]

**According to Him**

**Chapter One**

**Results**

Fifteen-year-old Rima was in the isle of a drug store. Way on the edge of town, a drug store that only sold tampons, condoms, and pregnancy tests. She had her dark shades on so no one would be able to recognize her... she could never have anyone find out who she was, not here.

Rima had been worried she was pregnant for a week after missing her period, but stalled as long as she could. But she had to get her answer now, so she could know whether or not she was pregnant, and whether or not she needed to talk to anybody. She hoped that the answer was negative, knowing that the father or this baby, if there even was a baby, would not want the child. _She _didn't want the child, but she wasn't going to abort it if it actually existed. And that's what she was going to find out.

She grabbed the first box of pregnancy tests she could find and tucked it under her jacket. Still, she had to be careful even here, because she didn't know whether any she knew would be on these parts of town. With her little box tucked into her jacket, she quickly walked up to the cash register to begin making her purchase. As she slipped the box onto the counter, the cashier gave her a raised looked the cashier, who happened to be an elderly lady, up and down disdainfully. "Are you gonna scan the item?"

"What do you need these for?" The old lady question, pointing to the box of pregnancy tests.

"I think you know." Rima narrowed her eyes impatiently.

The cashier rolled her eyes, which were protected with very thick spectacles. "Trashy teenage girls," She muttered under her breath as she scanned the item. "Never know what they're getting into."

"Excuse me?" Rima demanded, banging her fist onto the counter. She couldn't believe that the clerk lady was talking to her, a _customer_, this way. It was rude and offending.

The lady gave her a skeptical glance over the rims of her glasses. "You mean to say that you're not a hussy like all of the other girls? Then why are you here, buying a pregnancy test? What are you, thirteen?"

"I'm fifteen." Rima hissed. She hated it when people assumed that she was young just because of her height. "And you're an old witch who needs to mind her own business."

The elderly woman frowned at her, but none-the-less began tapping away on the register's keyboard. "Ten dollars and fifty-six cents, you little tramp."

"Thank you for your kindness." Rima said, giving the woman the exact amount and snatching up her little box. "Now, where's the public restroom?"

"That way." The response came with the old lady pointing toward an opening in the back. "I hope your test comes out positive. It'll teach you not to sleep around anymore."

"Whatever." Rima rolled her eyes, turning and walking away. Though she seemed passive, on the inside, she was really just _scared_. She hoped the old witch wasn't right with every fiber in her little body.

_**-According-to-Him-**_

Rima sat in the bathroom stall, her hands shaking. She waited for the answer, the answer that would change her life. She'd come to the farthest part of town to this store to get what she needed; somewhere she knew no one would recognize her. She needed this answer badly, but she was afraid of what it might be, because your test results were always right. A _pregnancy_ test rested in her shaky hands as she awaited her results. Rima was only sixteen, doing really well as a junior in high school. But how did she end up here, alone in the bathroom stall, fighting tears as she thought about everything that had had led up to this moment? It was what broke her heart the most that she was remembering...

_"C'mon, Rima-chan! You're still a virgin, after all."_

It was Tadase Hotori. He had done this to her. He was the reason she was there in the first place, the one who'd taken her virginity. Now Rima couldn't believe that she'd let him, that she'd made it so easy... she was completely disgusted with herself. Back then, four weeks ago, she'd thought it would be good for their image, the King and Queen together. Even though Tadase was still dating Amu, he'd told Rima that it'd be _their _little secret, that no one else had to know. The idea had pleased her, because she was all alone, and she had no one else to run to.

_"You're all alone, I'm free for tonight. We could make something interesting out of this. We could be together, just for tonight."_

Tadase had said all of this to her, and she'd been dumb enough to trust him. Dumb enough to believe that there were no consequences for her choices.

_"It'll be fun, Rima-chan. Nothing serious. We're only teenagers."_

And it was because they were teenagers that they shouldn't have been doing that in the first place. She had her whole life ahead of her, college and marriage and the whole cycle. Now all of that depended on this test. This _pregnancy _test.

And here came the answer. Five minutes had passed, and she knew her fate had been decided, but she was afraid to look and see. Her reluctant eyes traveled down to the test in her hands, searching for some kind of savior, or little sign that she was okay. But instead, she found a little pink plus sign.

At first, she felt as if all emotion had drained from her body, her face going pale as she felt as if she could faint. But then, it felt as if every emotion in the world filled her. Pain, regret, anger, confusion, humiliation, shame, fear, violation, the list goes on and on. Tears welled up in her eyes as she dropped the test onto the ground, freeing her hands to begin to wipe her face. It was no use, as the tears kept coming and the sobs racked her body.

The old witch was right.

Here, alone in the bathroom stall, was where she discovered that Tadase Hotori had gotten her _pregnant_.

[**G**ol**d**_e_n h**a**_i_r n**e**_v_er **t**_u_rn**e**_d_ gre**y** _w_it**h** _g_ri**e**_f_.]

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**Daisy: Yay! First chapter is over! I know it was suckish...**

**Taiga: Tell us what you think about it! REVIEW!**

**Rose: That's **_**my **_**line, dammit!**

**Taiga: Oh, sorry...**

**Daisy: Get it straight, Taiga-chan.**

**Taiga: ... Rose?**

**Rose: REVIEW, EVERYONE!**


	2. Alone

**Taiga: Hello, everyone! This specific chapter of 'According to Him' was written by me.**

**Daisy (begins reading off script): Hello, faithful readers-**

**Rose (scanning script with look of disgust): Taiga, just... don't bother with the scripts.**

**Taiga: What?**

**Daisy (agreeing with Rose): She's right. Go back to your corner. **

**Taiga: -_-"**

**Rose: We don't own ANYTHING.**

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[**M**_y_ qu**i**_e_t r**e**_f_le**c**_t_io**n** _e_ye**s** _m_e l**i**_k_e a **b**_i_rd **e**_y_es **a** _p_re**y**, **t**_h_e p**r**_o_fi**l**_e_ of **n**_i_ght **s**_l_an**t**_e_d a**g**_a_in**s**_t_ mo**r**_n_in**g**.]

**According to Him**

**Chapter Two**

**Alone**

After a second and third test confirmed what the first had already done, Rima dried her face and left the restroom.

She tried to smooth out her features, but she couldn't help but grimace while walking by the witch.

"So, what did it say? Are you getting what you deserved?" She hadn't she made up some sob story about her being raped? Maybe the cashier would have minded her own business after hearing that. For dramatic effect, she might have thrown in some fake tears.

Rima didn't answer her; she was still choked up from her harsh realization. She just forcefully shoved the glass door open and left, hearing cackles from inside. Well, at least someone is happy.

Walking home, she decided some things.

Was she going to tell her parents? No, not yet.

Was she going to tell Tadase?

Just for him to deny anything and everything that happened that night?

For him to state that he was a _loyal, faithful _boyfriend?

For him to get some sick satisfaction in knowing he had completely ruined her life?

No, definitely not. She mentally slapped herself _again _for not using any form of birth control. Trusting his judgment when he claimed he'd know when to 'pull out'.

However, what she _was _going to do when she got home was take an unnecessarily long bath, and cry her eyes out.

She was pregnant, for God's sake! She was going to have a human being growing inside her, who she would have to care for. Thinking like the teenager she is, she also realized that she was going to be the laughing stock of the school. Someone she couldn't even say she had a relationship with had knocked her up.

She was going to get _fat. _What a sight that she's going to be! She was only a little over five-foot, and it's going to look like she's smuggling a watermelon. She definitely wouldn't be able to get through this alone. But, there would be no one to support her.

Her parents? No, they can't know. Tadase? Hell no. Amu?

_Amu._

_What will I tell her?_

_That I had sex with her boyfriend of 10 months, crush of 6 years?_

How could she be such a backstabber? Amu was supposed to be her best friend!

She should be the one comforting Amu when _she _got pregnant.

No, no, she wasn't going to think like that. She wouldn't wish this upon any one else.

And once all of their other friends found out that the father was Tadase, things were just going to get worse. They would think she was _horrible _and a slut and bad friend . . . They might not even talk to her anymore.

As Rima thought about her friends, she began to tear up again. They were going to find out eventually. People were going to get suspicious when she started putting on pounds. She was already ridiculously emotional. And from what she's heard, the morning sickness is going to be very sudden.

Hopefully, she'll be able to keep her secret for some time. She had no idea how she would break the news to her parents. Would they be furious? Sad? Or what Rima thought would be the worst- disappointed?

Rima wished they could understand how lonesome she felt when they were away at work. Sometimes they were gone for days. Just last month, she was home alone for four days, by herself (her parents offered to get a babysitter, but she turned them down). They left money for her for food, and they only called twice; once asking if a certain bill had came, once to see if she had enough money.

Slipping through her front door, she began to think about her future. How will she get into a good college if she-

"Rima? Sweetie, dinner's on the table. Your father is out barbequing-" Her mother poked her head out from around the corner while Rima was slowly trudging up the stairs.

Rima began to feel faint.

_Barbecue? _

"I- I'm not hungry. I'm sorry Mom, tell Dad I'm not feeling well."

Not waiting for an answer, she hurried up the stairs and found herself hugging the ceramic bowl of her toilet. Just the thought of sweet, yet sour food made her sick to her stomach. Was this what she was going to be dealing with for months on end?

After about 5 minutes of dry heaving due to the fact that she hadn't eaten anything all day out of nervousness, Rima slid to the cold, tile floor. That bath sounded better than ever.

Ever since that night about a month ago, she's felt disgusting, violated, knowing she wasn't a virgin. That she had let someone as cruel as _Tadase . . ._

She slowly lowered herself into her bathtub.

What was she thinking? Of all people to turn to, she chose Tadase?

She had plenty of servants who would be flat-out _overjoyed _to be with her, nonetheless take her virginity.

Still sulking, Rima jumped half a foot in the air when her mother tapped the bathroom door. "Rima? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Mom." She slid lower into the water.

"Okay. Just tell me if you feel any worse, we'll let you stay home from school tomorrow. You looked a little pale when you came in."

Rima didn't answer.

"I'll be here if you aren't feeling well, okay?"

"Okay, Mom."

Although her own mother had just said she would be there for her, Rima had never felt more alone.

[**t**_h_e p**r**_o_fi**l**_e_ of **n**_i_ght **s**_l_an**t**_e_d a**g**_a_in**s**_t_ mo**r**_n_in**g**.]

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**Daisy: Responses to my FRICKING AWESOME reviews!...**

**Response to XxXBlue 'N Green DinysawrzXxX: Oh My Gawshness. I love all my reviewers! Sometimes it's kinda creepy and I feel like you're all watching me and waiting for me to write something so you can read it, but other times I feel so fluffy and warm inside that you guys actually CARE. And awwwww! Thank you for the compliment! I don't nearly deserve the ones I get... I'm not that great a writer, as you know. Hehehe. **

**Response to forgive-forget-princess: Hey, Gemi-chan! And, sorry, but you're not the first reviewer. BG (Blue 'N Greeen Dinysawrz) beat you to it. I'm not surprised though, as it seems her mission in life is to review everything I've ever written before it's been online for an hour. And it seems as if this story has peaked everyone's hate for Tadase, though I have to admit, he's not my favorite character. And who knows Rima's reasons for letting Tadase do that to her? I don't even think she, let alone the writers of this thing, knows. **

**Response to AmutoLuver1: OH. EM. GEE. I will NEVER get tired of your reviews. They're so fun to read, even though you're screaming hate proclaimations and death threats to Tadase, I still luff you! (Not that I luff Tadase in any kind of way! He doesn't deserve my luff!). REVIEW, NII-CHAN!**

******Response to **LizzieGlee12: YAY! Honora-chan, I'm so glad you reviewed. You're one of my favorite reviewers (you're at least in the top five). Sorry, no way in hell that this kid can be Nagi's child. The fic wouldn't be so dramatic if there was. And HEY! I had fun writing about the 'stupid old hag', even though she snubbed Rime, don't snub her! 

**Response to Blossoming Hope: Wow, you haven't reviewed anything I've written for a LONG time. A reasonable approach? 8D YAY! **

**Response to Wombat-Mel: You're username is completely ironic to me. I have a best friend named Mel, and she is OBSESSED with wombats and crap. So forever and a day, we've called her wombat-Mel. How funny, and what a coincidence! And, don't worry, you are not alone. When I read the idea AlmostScriptophobic had for this story, i fell outta my seat, too. But I thought it was a cute idea. **

**Response to MahouGirl123: No, no! LOL is a wonderful word that can _never _be said too much. I updated, so now you must REVIEW FOR MEH!**

**Response to xRimaxHikox: Actually, Rima's only fifteen in this story. But that still doesn't give Tadase the liberty to knock her up, I agree. Well, we'll see how Nagi handles this very soon. And you're not alone, dear. This story seems to have ressurected everyone's hatred of him BIG-TIME. I can't say I object, though, as I seem to hate Tadase, too. **

**Response to Half Angel Half Devil: Don't worry, everyone is shocked, dear. It's not every day that Tadase impregnates a girl! (Lord help us if it is, because there would be about a million little Tadases and Tadase-ettes running around here). anyway, interrupting my own random thoughts, I'm glad you like this story. I'm a sucker for a different/eclectic plot, as well.**

**Rose: Since you all reviewed Daisy's chapter, you must all now go and review Taiga's chapter! Remember, DaisyDancer112 (Daisy-chan) didn't write this one, AlmostScriptophobic (Taiga-chan) did!** **REVIEW HER BRILLIANCE!**


	3. Agony

**Daisy: New chapter! I wrote this one~**

**Taiga: If you haven't noticed already, Daisy-chan and I are taking turns writing each chapter. So next time I'll write.**

**Rose: Taiga-chan?**

**Taiga: Yeah?**

**Rose: When do I get my write my **_**own **_**script? You know, for the disclaimers. I used to do it all the time for Daisy-chan, but then she got tired and fired me. Can I start again? Ne, Taiga-chan? )8D**

**Taiga: Uhhhhh, Rose-chan, I don't think you should... O.O**

**Rose: They own NOTHING.**

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[**A**_n_d y**e**_t_ th**e**_s_e f**i**_n_e c**o**_ll_ap**s**_e_s a**r**_e_ no**t** _l_ie**s**, **b**_u_t m**o**_r_e t**h**_a_n t**h**_e_ pi**rr**_o_ue**tt**_e_s o**f** _a_ny **p**_l_ia**n**_t_ ca**n**_e_.]

**According to Him**

**Chapter Three**

**Agony**

In the morning, Rima was _so _tired. Her hormones had made her go to the bathroom at thirty-minute intervals the previous night, so she had gotten virtually no sleep at all. Soon enough, it was time for her to get up and start getting dressed for school. School, where Tadase was. School, where unsuspecting Amu was. School, where all her friends had no idea what kind of shit she'd gotten herself into. And there was no undoing this. Rima laid in bed, motionless, a hand on her abdomen. A baby, a living _creature _would be growing inside of there soon. Very soon, and there was nothing she could do about it. Sadness filled her as she thought of the baby she was bringing into this world, this screwed up world that allowed fifteen-year-old girls to get pregnant.

But she had also done this to _herself_.

"Rima, dear... it's time to wake up." Her mother's voice resounded lightly on the other side of her bedroom door.

Rima sat up in bed, and as soon as she did, she was hit with a horrible headache. It was so bad; she fought the urge to faint right then, pulling herself together for this secret's sake. "Okay, Mom. I'm coming."

_-According to Him-_

Rima sat in her usual seat at lunch, sulking and shrinking down into it. Here she was, in the Seiyo Academy High cafeteria, waiting for her friends to return with their food. She didn't feel like eating, not if it was only going to make her feel sick. And even more than that, she was battling a killer headache. She put her face down onto the table, resting her forehead in her downward-facing palms. She did _not _feel well that day. It didn't help that all the former guardian**s **were heading to the table right then, all their trays in hand.

Amu slid into her usual seat next to Rima, looking a bit concerned as her tray hit the table. "Rima-chan, what's wrong?"

Rima picked her head up to look at her. Amu was her best friend, yet she'd betrayed her so cruelly. Sleeping with her boyfriend! That made her sad to look at Amu, heartbroken to know that she didn't suspect a thing. That Amu trusted her that much... Rima didn't deserve that friendship. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure, Rima-tan?" Yaya asked after taking her own seat. She sat in-between Nagihiko and Kukai. Kukai was there, but Nagihiko hadn't arrived, yet.

"Yeah. I'm just not feeling well." Rima promised. She hated lies. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she snuck a peak at Tadase out of the corner of her eye. He looked so unsuspicious; it made her sick. Well, of course, she was _already_ sick, but the way he acted as if he was guilt-free disgusted her.

Tadase saw her staring at him and smiled. "I hope you feel better, Rima-chan."

And then that was it. Like nothing had ever happened between them. But, then again, she'd promised not to say anything about the night they shared, and in turn he would act like nothing happened, too. But now, she hated him for that. "T-Thank you."

Nagihiko was coming over to the table, now. He had no tray, and no food as he slid into his usual seat next to Yaya. He looked thoroughly depressed as he put his elbow on the table, his chin resting in his upturned hand. Everyone was kind of shocked by the aura coming off of him.

"Nagi? You're not eating, either?" Yaya poked him curiously.

He shook his head. "No. I don't feel like it."

"I've reached the conclusion that everybody being depressed is depressing me." Kukai said, keeping a close eye on Rima and Nagihiko. "This table is like this inside of a _Pristiq _commercial."

Tadase nodded towards Rima, smiling as if he were concerned. "Rima-chan isn't eating, either."

"This again, guys? I'm fine, really." Rima sighed, sinking farther down into her chair.

Nagihiko gave her a confused look. Rima knew he was looking at her, too, but avoided his gaze. She didn't know how in the world he could be suspicious, but Nagi _always _knew when she wasn't telling the truth. And _that _was the reason she didn't make eye contact, keeping her sight focused on her lap. Her headache was really roaring, but she couldn't give anyone any reason to worry, so she pretended that nothing was wrong.

Keeping this secret was agony.

Just as Rima thought this, Amu took the lid off of her packed spaghetti, letting loose the smell into the cafeteria air. No one else would be able to smell it, and it they did they wouldn't care**. **But, to Rima and her heightened sense of smell, the sauce's scent made her dizzy. Once again, she felt like she could faint... and puke. At the same time. The headache wasn't helping, either.

"Are you _sure _you're okay, Mashiro-chan?" Kukai asked skeptically.

That was the last straw. Rima abruptly got up from the lunch table, pushing her chair away and standing. Without a word or fair warning, she flew quickly away from them and high-tailed it to wherever she was going. She just needed to be out of that room. This was _not _good... and only more unwanted proof that she couldn't keep this secret forever.

Out of the cafeteria, to the hallway. Rima leaned up against the lockers for support, wishing she were someone else. Sighing shakily, she slid down to the floor, gripping her hair. Nothing was going her way, nothing at all. Her life had taken a turn for the worst, and who was to blame? Her. Her and Tadase... Tadase, who was innocent (not). At that thought of that, she felt like she could cry, but she wouldn't. Not where anyone could see her. Instead, right there with her back up against the lockers, she curled up into a ball.

"Rima-chan?"

She didn't respond to whoever was calling her name. She wanted to be alone and by herself. She didn't need anyone's pity, or for them to even find out. This was _her _life, _her _secret... _her baby_.

"Rima-chan, are you okay?"

It was Nagihiko. Though she couldn't see him, he kneeled by her balled-up figure, concerned for her. Not that she cared about his gesture, in any shape, way, or form. He was more of an annoyance to her... though he was only trying to help.

Rima's head snapped up. Her golden eyes were narrowed and on the brink of tears. "Do I _look _okay to you?"

He was a bit taken aback by her cold tone, but his face recovered and was composed. He was used to Rima's unneeded harshness, so in return he just smiled like he always did. "What's wrong?"

"None of your business." She snapped. "Nothing is wrong."

"You're _really _bad at lying, Rima."

[**A**_n_d y**e**_t_ th**e**_s_e f**i**_n_e c**o**_ll_ap**s**_e_s a**r**_e_ no**t** _l_ie**s**.]

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**Taiga-chan's review-responses!**

**MahouGirl123: RIGHT? Bad Tadase. –squirts with water- CONTROL YOURSELF. I'm not a fan, either. I'm glad you're happy we updated fast! Since there're two of us, updates will probably be quicker. I agree. It's tempting to kill Tadase off in this story. But, he's kind of needed for later chapters. Whatta letdown.**

**Bma925: It's disgusting, right? I try not to think too hard about it. –also shivers- Hmm. So do I. I'm writing that part as we speak. XD Well, it's going to affect Amu and Rima's relationship, it is a rather big issue. But who knows? Maybe it'll make their friendship stronger.**

**Forgive-forget-princess: RIGHT? Tadase= Man-whore. I think that most girls do hate him, at least, since Amuto became the main couple. It's sort of, like, Amuto won in the manga, but Tadamu in the anime (since Party's out doing it's own thannng)? I'm not sure, really, I might have gotten that completely wrong. -_- Gah, I wish it was a dream. But that would set off everything we have planned. I'm glad you want more? :D**

**Amutolover1: I AGREE. And as I quote Ro-neechan, Tadase is an ass/bastard/retard/woman. I'm glad you let your frustration out in the form of asterisks. :D Thank you! I'm happy that you think we make good partners? Your reviews always make me laugh, keep reviewing! ^_^**

**XxXBlue 'N Green DinysawrxXxX: Thank you! :D Eh, that does make the story rather depressing, I suppose you're right. Yet, there wouldn't be much of a plot if it were just 2,000 words of Rimahiko fluff.. but that would be nice. I hope it gets better when the initial shock of her pregnancy wears off. Hmm, Nagi shall find out soon, that's all I'm saying~ Thank you again (I also repeat. XD)!**

**12: Sheesh. My hatred for him is, too, and I'm writing (half of) this! I'll try not to end my chapters in an epic Tadase beat-down. Ahh, I can't say anything about the father figure, it'll ruin the surprise! We can't have that, now, can we? Hmm. I wonder, too. XD I'm glad you're looking forward to the drama, but we hope to make this a mulit-genre fic. No worries either way, there'll be plenty of drama. I mean, she's having a baby! Keep reviewing for Daisy-chan, we like your reviews!**

**Half Angel Half Evil: NOOO0O00O0O. We shall not let him grow up to be a mini-Tadase. No fear, dear Melody-chan, for we shall restrain Tadase. (Or kill him. That'd be fun to write. But like I said to MahouGirl123, he's sort of needed. Sort of.)**

**xRimaxHikox: Thanks! I didn't realize how much we sparked your guys' hatred in Tadase. XD I agree, it is not if Nagi doesn't. But~ he makes his appearance very berry soon, so no worries! Keep reviewing, please! :D**


	4. Realization

***Taiga-chan watches Daisy-chan and Rose-chan burn her scripts***

**Rose: Daisy-chan and Taiga-chan don't own ANYTHING.**

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[**T**_i_ng**e**_d_ by **g**_r_ie**f** _o_r a**n**_t_ic**i**_p_at**i**_o_n, **w**_h_ic**h** _b_ro**u**_g_ht **t**_o_ yo**u**_r_ fa**c**_e_ a t**h**_o_ug**h**_t_fu**l**, **d**_e_ep**e**_n_in**g** _g_ra**c**_e_.]

**According To Him**

**Chapter Four**

**Realization**

"_You're_ really_ bad at lying, Rima."_

Two things filled Rima's thoughts at that moment: First, was he going to find out her secret _that fast? _She's known for less than, what? A week?

Second, he didn't use an honorific with her name.

But she was more concerned about the first thought. If Nagihiko found out, he would surely tell Tadase, his best friend since grade school. If Tadase found out...

Rima didn't think Tadase would tell Amu, because she would ask about the father, which he obviously wouldn't want to talk about. But that didn't mean Rima wanted him to know yet.

In fact, Rima didn't think she ever wanted him to know; the whole situation was that embarrassing.

Maybe she should transfer schools. She wouldn't have to deal with the humiliation of her friends and classmates finding out her secret, or having people she's known for years looking at her in a different light.

A light she definitely didn't want to be looked at in.

"Rima-chan?" Ah, there's the honorific. "You haven't answered me, yet. Are your feet that interesting?" Nagihiko asked, amused.

"There's nothing to answer. Nothing's wrong." She said, softly, and without emotion, trying to control her tears.

He stared at her and noted the tears in her eyes. "This is really serious, isn't it?"

She turned her head and looked down the hallway, watching a few stragglers take a different route to the cafeteria, for which she was somewhat thankful. Being as perceptive as he was, he took that as an obvious yes.

"Then," He quickly pulled her to her feet, holding both of her hands. She wobbled out of surprise, and the sudden movement didn't help her queasy stomach. "Let's go out for the rest of lunch and our free period next block and get some food. How does that sound?"

_Horrible_, she wanted to say. _Disgusting, idiotic, like an overall bad idea._

"We really don't have to, I mean," She mumbled, "I don't have any money on me."

"My treat." He smiled at her, and led her to the main entrance by her hand. After holding open the door for her, he waved at the secretary, who nodded in return. Of course he wasn't just going to skip school.

_-According to Him-_

Rima pondered how she got into this predicament, sitting in the passenger seat of her least favorite guardian's car. Sure, she didn't hate him like she childishly did in elementary school, but they didn't exactly spend weekends gossiping at the mall.

She was only thankful her headache had let up, if only temporarily.

It helps not to grimace when you're trying to convince a strangely perceptive boy that life has never been better.

She was feeling so good, she had some of her appetite back, even if was only for bland things. But she wasn't going to tell Nagihiko that she would like some saltine crackers and plain bread for lunch.

Nagihiko was the first to break the silence in the car. "So, what would you like to eat?" Pause. "I was thinking . . . " He began listing fast food places, each of them Rima either cringed at or wrinkled her nose to. At the name of one, she even winced. When she made no reaction to the Italian fast food place, he started the car and drove.

_-According to Him-_

Rima sunk into her red vinyl char, thinking of when she did the same thing at lunch that same day. The thought of that made her sit up immediately, as she didn't want Nagihiko picking up on that body language the same way her other friends did.

She was patiently waiting for Nagihiko to come back after ordering their food at the front of the restaurant. Nagihiko was getting himself spaghetti (Rima wondered why he didn't just eat their school's lunch), and he was getting her their homemade soup.

Rima didn't care for the soup, but it came with a ridiculous amount of saltine crackers and breadsticks.

A few moments later, Nagihiko turned around balancing their tray in one oversized hand, fitting their drinks in his other, and walked towards their table. He smiled at Rima, who only stared at their food in response.

Breathing through her mouth, she dove for the mostly unflavored breadsticks the second she heard the _clink _of tray hitting table.

She figured she should devour her food while she could, before being bombarded with questions by the suspicious boy who all but kidnapped her here.

Eight crackers and one and a half breadsticks later, Nagihiko broke the silence. "So, are you going to tell me what's wrong, or will I have to pry?"

Unfortunately for Rima, she was very interested in her sudden change of appetite. So interested, that when Nagihiko spoke, she lost her concentration and took a breath through her nose.

The smell of the soup, his spaghetti, and the food of everyone in a five foot radius instantly wafted into her nose, which she felt a minute later in her stomach.

She knew this wasn't like the times before, when she merely felt sick to her stomach. This time, she _knew _she was going to vomit.

But . . . Did this have to happen _in front of Nagihiko?_

"Aeh-" Came her intelligent reply, because it was all she could muster before she put a delicate hand over her mouth and booked it to the ladies' room.

Nagihiko cursed and ran after her.

After earning a few odd looks from standing outside the restroom, he cursed yet again and dug a hair band out from his pocket.

Safely thinking he looked like a tomboy, he burst inside the stall he saw Rima's shoes under, to find her . . . er, tossing her cookies. He did the only thing a _girlfriend _could do at that point: hold her hair.

_-According to Him-_

"Rima-chan . . . " She sheepishly turned her head, still rather pale from not five minutes ago. "What was that? If you were sick, you could have just told me. I wouldn't have dragged you out here-"

Rima stopped paying attention, Nagihiko was rambling apologies, and somehow thinking it was his own fault. He even questioned the food he bought for her.

"Nagihiko, it isn't your fault." She mentally added, _it's Tadase's._

After pushing the thought that Nagihiko would have made a _much _better father figure out of her head, she faced him again.

"Then what is it, Rima-chan? You can tell me." She grimaced at that.

"I get carsick easily." She lied easily, then took a sip of water.

"We were driving for less than ten minutes, and you've been fine most of the time we've been here."

She made no response to that, and unconsciously brought a hand to her abdomen, and looked at the families sprinkled around the restaurant. She did all of this without thinking, and without noticing it was in full sight of Nagihiko. She only wanted to get out of there and go home. Nagihiko, however, only wanted answers. His eyes widened, and he came to the conclusion that Rima hadn't wanted him to know, that she hadn't wanted anyone to know.

"Rima-chan . . ." She faced him, expecting another rant on how she should stay home when she's sick. "Are you . . . pregnant...?"

[**T**_i_ng**e**_d_ by **g**_r_ie**f** _o_r a**n**_t_ic**i**_p_at**i**_o_n.]

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**Daisy: Now for the responses to my uber-awesome reviews!**

**Response to i-is-animefreak: I totally agree. I do, really... but I can't express my anger how I want to because I am a co-author of this story. How sad.**

**Response to ushichan: Oh, but he can. And dear... he name isn't Tada_se,_ it has so decidedly become Tada_gay_. You are in no way expected to call him by his Japanese name. And you are in no way going to beat him up! We need him for this story! Please...**

**Response to amutoluver1: O.O ... That was quite eye-opening for me. And one of your best and scariest reviews yet.**

**Response to LizzieGlee12: A chapter full of Tadase-torture? A nice idea. However, NO. As I've said to ushichan, you cannot beat him up. He's needed for the story. There would be no story if we beat him up. I know we've been pummel-partners in the past (Rima's dad, for instants) but not Tadase. At least, not until this story is over. **

**Response to Kuroda Chiaki: Hmmm... I happen to like your username. Very inventive. Well, dear, you'll figure out why Rima had sex with Tadase soon... very soon. Because it is vair vair important that you do, as a reader. And as a reader, it is your duty to review.**

**Response to RikanShirokura: Interesting perspective. I think you're the only reader of this story who doesn't hate Tadase's guts. As I am 100% RimaHiko, too, I'd happened to already hate Tadase for getting inbetween Amu and Ikuto. As it is, this story just reignites the anti-Tadase flame for me and everyone else. I respect your control, though. Gadzooks.**

**Response to WombatMel: Yeah, I'm a Tadase-hater, but it's not because of this story. Look at my response to RikanShirokura to understand my point of view on the subject. I'm also not the one to make tadase the bad-guy in this fic... this is the doing of the infamous and genius mind of Free Parking (Taiga-chan).**

**Response to xRimaxHikox: Thanks for the compliments. I agree with you, 100%. I think it's sort of good that you didn't bash Tadase this time... like RikanShirokura, it means you have control. Which is good sometimes xD**

**Rose: Thanks for all the compliments, guys! Now review for Taiga-chan's chapter!**


	5. Confession

**Daisy: We're back, guys!**

**Taiga: After the longest wait in the world. So sorry about that. It's just she _SHE _-points to Daisy- is very, very lazy.**

**Daisy: I know TT^TT**

**Rose: Fortunately, Taiga-chan and Daisy own NOTHING! I mean, what if they were running the Shugo Chara! manga? We'd have no manga for MONTHS.**

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**

[**S**_o_ no**t** _t_o f**ee**_l_ th**e** _h_orr**i**_b_le **b**_u_rd**e**_n_ of **t**_i_me **t**_h_at **b**_r_ea**k**_s_ yo**u**_r_ ba**c**_k _an**d** _b_en**d**_s_ yo**u** _t_o t**h**_e_ ea**r**_t_h,  
**y**_o_u h**a**_v_e t**o** _b_e c**o**_n_ti**u**_a_lly **d**_r_un**k**.]

**According to Him**

**Chapter Five**

**Confession**

_"Rima-chan... are you... pregnant?"_

Rima's hand flew away from her stomach and balled into a gentle fist, which she rested on her knee. She'd blown it, now. Nagihiko knew her secret! She knew she wouldn't be able to keep it for long, but why did it have to be _him_? And did she really want to tell him, or should she just blow him off? Concluding, with a shaky breath, that either way he was going to find out, she brushed a blonde hair from her face. "Y-Yeah." She murmured, looking down at her lap.

Nagihiko's eyes saddened, full of concern. "How long-? Never mind, I shouldn't be asking questions..."

"No, it's okay..." She said quickly. "I didn't want anyone to find out, but I was kinda hoping someone would. I hate keeping this secret."

Rima took a shaky breath, putting her hands on the table, outstretched and in front of her. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but she knew she had to do it. Either way, everyone was going to find out about this. She might as well start now.

Nagihiko reached across the table to take her hand in his, his own face softening in understanding. "Rima-chan... How did this happen?"

Rima shut her eyes tightly, trying her best to keep her emotions at bay. Here it was; she was, for the first time since it occurred, telling what had happened on the night Tadase got her pregnant. And to Nagihiko, of all people! Well, it was better than no one...

So she began telling him. "It was... on the night Yaya-chan threw that house-party..."

**-Flashback-**

_Everyone was either completely drunk or halfway there. I remember standing next to Yaya, a drink in hand. I watched the people who danced drunkenly around her living room; her parents were out of town for the week, so she took that opportunity to throw one of the biggest high school house parties ever. And out of them all, Yaya was the biggest party-girl._

_Who was only slightly tipsy, which is good for her._

_"Rima-chaaaan!" She complained, turning to me. "How come you never ever drink at these parties?"_

_"Because I'm the designated driver." I told her off flatly._

_This didn't faze her. "But you can barely see over the steering wheel!"_

_Touché. I frowned at her disdainfully, not really understanding why I even came to these types of parties. "I don't want a drink, Yaya-chan. Accept it."_

_"Nonsense!" She giggled, hiccupping just a bit. "Yaya'll go get you a drinkkkk, and you'll have fun, okay?"_

_Before I got a chance to answer, Yaya was skipping over to the drink table, away from me. I sighed and turned away, trying to locate any of my other friends for help. I spotted Utau dirty dancing with Kukai across the room... God, she was stoned... and Nagihiko didn't even come (probably because he's smart). I saw Amu and Tadase talking in hushed tones in a corner, it sounded like they were fighting. I watched this, only a bit interested. Tadase and Amu _never _fought... it must've been something big._

_I was shocked when Amu crossed her arms, turned away, and stomped off. She looked really mad, but whatever. I would probably hear all about it tomorrow, when everyone was in a more coherent state._

_So a couple of meaningless dances, and a couple of drinks later I was drunk, too. I never thought the day would come when I actually would enjoy a party like this, but the beer made everything so... beautiful. Everything made so much more sense. Like when Tadase walked over to me._

_"Hey, Rima-chan," He said, only slightly tipsy. "You having fun?"_

_I smirked. "If you could call this fun. I'm totally waaaastedd."_

_He chuckled. "All right. How about we ditch this place?"_

_"But can you drive?" I asked, blinking lazily._

_"Sure. I'm not _that _drunk." He returned lightly. Then, "At least... not as much as you are."_

_"Whatever. You're totally missing out, heeere." I pointed to myself, beer bottle in hand._

_Tadase extended his own hand to me. "Let's get outta here."_

_"Sure thing."_

**-Flashback-**

Present-day Rima was crying, now. Tears overflowed, running down her cheeks. She put her head down on the table, not able to look at Nagihiko. She was afraid of what he would say, afraid that he would tell everyone. But isn't that what she deserved?

Nagihiko was heartbroken as he looked down on the sobbing girl. He didn't care if everyone in the Italian restaurant was staring; he hated to see her cry. And he hated Tadase for doing this to her... making her like this. He wasn't sure he understood, but what he _did_ know is that he was going to make it better.

"Rima-chan..." He said sadly, gazing at her.

Rima looked up, tears still falling down her cheeks. "Aren't you gonna yell at me? Tell me that I'm a horrible slut, or something?"

"Of course not." Nagi stood, and walked over to her chair. Even though he was sure that he was the _last _person that Rima wanted a hug from, her hugged her anyway. It was one of those from-behind-hugs, one that was meaningful.

She liked the way it felt to have him hold her. She lifted her eyes, looking at him staring at her. Staring at her in a way that made her confused... he gazed at her as if he really understood, and he actually cared. As if he wasn't mad at her. She didn't understand it as she wiped her eyes with the back of her tiny fists. "I'm so confused about what to do."

"Me, too. But whatever you decide to do, I'll help you."

That sounded nice. She liked the idea of having someone that had her back, no matter what. She smiled as the witnesses of this moment, everyone in the restaurant, gave a collective _'awwwwww'_.

"Rima-chan," He whispered to her. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry, too."

[**Y**_o_u h**a**_v_e t**o** _b_e c**o**_n_ti**u**_a_lly **d**_r_un**k**.]

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**Taiga's Review Responses~!**

**MeixLi: Hahah! Thank you! I hope this satisfied you, I'm sorry for leaving it at a cliffie. I tried not to shove all of this off on Daisy-chan (I liked how she handled it, did you?) Review for her! :D**

**LizzieGlee12: Nagi knows all. It figures it'd take him less than a week to figure it out. Thank you, we're glad you like this! ^_^**

**Bma925: I'm glad we've helped you reach this shocking realization. XDDD Thank you! And hmm. Nagi beating up Tadase would be fun, wouldn't it be? Heh. But nah, I'm sorry, we can't do that . . . Yet.**

**Forgive-forget-princess: Eek, I'm sorry we couldn't update as fast! It's basically all my fault . . . Who am I kidding, it's all my fault. -_-; Thank you so much! :D**

**MahouGirl123: HAHAH. He is a fast catcher-upper, isn't he? XD He can do it, because he's the next Chuck Norris. –giggles at lame joke- Anyways, I'm glad you liked it so much. XD**

**Amutoluver1: I'm . . . Really trying not to think to hard as to what the *'s represent, though I have a pretty clear idea. XDD Heh, Rima's idiocy (That isn't a word. Don't judge me. XD) pretty much makes the plot of this entire story. XDDD Everything's better when Nagi's on top of things, right?**

**XxXBlue 'N Green DinysawrsXxX: Heh. Don't we all feel bad for Rima? I mean, Tadase freaking impregnated her. Poor child. I suppose it took Nagi a while, didn't it? Almost a week? XDDD**

**-Rikan Shirokura-: (Even though that comment was directed towards Daisy,) I know what you mean? I'm not a huge Tadamu fan, definitely not, but as long as she's happy. And as long as Satelite doesn't pull some Amuhiko or Kukamu crap, I'm happy, too. I hope you liked the way Daisy-chan did this, I did. :D**

**you-is-animefreak: He is, isn't he? ^_^ Blah. Don't get me started on Tadase.**

**Ushichan: … -still sort of fuming over the 'MY' comment-... Hmm. I guess he wasn't really in this chapter. Or the last.. Or the next... XDD But he'll come in handy somewhere soon. Or not so handy. I'm trying to make this make sense, without giving anything away… But I failed. Just.. never mind. I hope you like this. :D**

**xRimaxHikox: Eek, I'm sorry we couldn't supply enough RimaHiko in time! Please, don't spontaneously combust on us! XD It shall come soon~! **

**Dollisaur: Thank you! It was mostly out of her loneliness and lack of Nagi's lovinnn'. Kidding! Well, not to the first part. We tried to get the message across that she was already feeling depressed and lonely, and then adding alcohol to the mix and a persuasive Tadase didn't help. Did that make sense? … No? Just.. keep reading. XD **

**Now, go review for the better writer of us two. –points at Daisy-chan-**


	6. Innocent

**Daisy: We have some very sad news to tell you guys, now...**

***Rose and Taiga are blowing their noses in tissues***

**Rose: *Sniffle* Because of the difficulties of being a high school student, Taiga-chan will have to pause writing this story for a while. Isn't it so sad?**

**Taiga: *sobb* I know, Ro-neechan, I know.**

**Daisy: But this does not mean that the story will be paused altogether. I will continue writing each chapter for you guys until Taiga feels up to writing again. Currently, she's on hiatus. I know I've said I was on hiatus lots of times when i was just being lazy, but Taiga-chan says she really needs to get cracking on her schoolwork.**

**Taiga: It's intense, to say the least. But I'll be abck in a little bit!**

**Rose: They own NOTHING! **

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[**W**_h_at **a**_r_e y**o**_u_ ab**l**_e_ to **b**_u_il**d** _w_it**h** _y_ou**r** _b_lo**c**_k_s? **C**_a_st**l**_e_s a**n**_d_ pa**l**_a_ce**s**, **t**_e_mp**l**_e_s a**n**_d_ do**c**_k_s.  
**R**_a_in **m**_a_y k**e**_e_p ra**i**_n_in**g**, **a**_n_d o**t**_h_er**s** _g_o r**o**_a_m, **b**_u_t I **c**_a_n b**e** _h_app**y** _a_nd **b**_u_il**d**_i_ng **a**_t_ ho**m**_e_.]

**According To Him**

**Chapter Six**

**Innocent**

Rima wasn't quite sure what to expect when they returned to their high school. She assumed that Nagihiko and she would go back to how they used to be, which was just barely acquaintances. She figured that everything he had said about support in the Italian restaurant was just a show for the small crowd eavesdropping; after all, he was always a very good actor. But the way he looked at her while hugging her was so caring, she didn't quite know what to believe. His words were so heartfelt, like he really planned on sticking with her. She didn't feel comfortable with the way their relationship was, she wanted to know where they stood. Having thought the entire situation in the restaurant over, she became embarrassed for breaking down in front of Nagihiko, openly letting him pity her. She hated when people pitied her.

Not to mention, she threw up her lunch during their time there.

She even told him the entire story of how this entire situation came to be, ranting about what happened at Yaya's party. She just had to talk about it, he was the first willing person, and the rest was history. So, she came to a conclusion. From the moment they parted to go to their separate classes, she would avoid him. Granted, she was somewhat avoiding everyone at this point, but him in particular. She just didn't want his pitiful looks, and she did _not_ want to be around when he told Tadase. She still felt it was her duty to break it to Tadase, so if Nagihiko took it upon himself to tell him she would be a little mad. But it would also take a lot of pressure off of her.

Rima really didn't know how she was going to tell anyone else.

It was easy with Nagihiko, because she didn't have to think through how she would tell him, when she would tell him, things like that. It all sort of came out on it's own when the tears started.

Obviously, she wasn't going to let Tadase find out on his own.

_Considering how much _we_ communicate, he'd probably figure out when I deliver the thing, _Rima bitterly thought, while daydreaming in class.

Twirling her pencil in one hand, the other supporting her head, she let her thoughts roam. She was sitting in class, barely listening to a teacher's lectures.

Her eyes began to droop, due to her lack of sleep the night before. However, they shot back open when the obnoxiously loud and high-pitched bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.

Fortunately for Rima, she didn't share her last class with any of her friends, so she didn't have to worry about faking a smile, and pretending to be all right.

There were lots of unanswered questions (like why she arrived at school after their free period with Nagihiko) they had that she didn't want to answer, so she figured she would put off the complicated explanation for another day.

She very slowly packed her things when the bell rang, being the very last to leave the classroom, her safe haven. Peeking her head out the door, she saw that the hallway was free of curious friends. She proceeded outdoors.

_-According to Him-_

Rima didn't want to walk home just yet, so she settled for wondering around her school's campus. She began making her way to an aged bench.

Sitting down, she kicked off her uncomfortable shoes and let her legs dangle, while watching other students say their goodbyes to their friends.

She began to envy the other teenagers. Almost all of them would have a normal high school career. Most of them would go off to college, acquire a decent job, get married, and have their own children. She zoned out, thinking of the life she would probably never have.

"Hey, Rima-chan, do you want a ride home?" Nagihiko appeared beside her, making her jump a little. Apparently, he hadn't left, like she watched the rest of her friends do (from a distance, of course).

She blinked at him, and figured getting a ride would be better than walking. Besides, he already knew her secret, and her plan to avoid him had already failed. She nodded, and slipped her feet back into her shoes.

They started walking towards his car in comfortable silence.

They went through the procedure of him opening the passenger door, her shyly sliding into the seat, and him driving away. She was already getting used to the feeling, as if she had been driving with him her entire life.

In most situations, this would start to get awkward, but with a half-conscious Rima and a smiling Nagihiko, there was nothing wrong.

After a few moments, Nagihiko started a conversation.

"So, Rima-chan. Are you taking any pre-natal vitamins?" Nagihiko suggested. When she was silent, he continued. "Are you doing anything to prepare for the baby?"

"Um . . . No, not yet."

Truthfully, Rima didn't know much about pregnancy. She had never seen her mother pregnant with another child, because she had no siblings. No one she was particularly close to was pregnant, and she hadn't looked anything up on the internet yet.

"Then we'll need to get you started on those, I hear you can get them over-the-counter at local drugstores . . . Unless, of course, you chose to . . . abort it?"

"I'm not having an abortion." She said quickly, despite her sleepiness.

She heard Nagihiko quietly sigh in relief. "All right, then, have you considered your other options?"

Rima was beginning to feel embarrassed, she really hadn't thought all of this through. And the fact that Nagihiko, a guy, knew more about her situation than she did was just making her feel more out of place.

Besides knowing she wasn't aborting it, she was at a lost of what to do. She was leaning towards adoption, knowing she really couldn't be a parent at fifteen.

She was sort of listening as Nagihiko rambled on about the pro's and con's about each option. She began thinking more and more about how dedicated he seemed to be to her situation. In fact, she was still in shock that he was kind enough to drive her home.

"Oh, and Rima-chan, we'll need to schedule you in for a doctor's appointment soon, so they can see how you're doing."

She lightly nodded in response, and tried not to think too hard about how she was going to keep her parents from finding the bills. They certainly didn't need another reason to be fighting, which was one of the main reasons why she hadn't told them in the first place.

Instead, she began thinking of Nagihiko. Did he have an ulterior motive to driving her home? Was he just trying to be nice to a pregnant woman?

Any other person would have given up on her by now, after one day.

On that note, she gave in to her drooping eyes once again that day, and fell asleep.

_-According to Him-_

Nagihiko felt very cliché carrying a sleeping Rima out of his car, after finding a key to her house in her purse.

Luckily, her parents weren't home to question why he was holding their unconscious daughter. He slightly wondered if her parents knew about her pregnancy. He really doubted it.

He quietly and gracefully ascended the stairs to the second floor, and found a room he guessed was Rima's. He (very gently) set her on her bed, and drew a few strands of hair away from her face.

He was considering kissing her while she was fast asleep (he could tell she was a deep sleeper, she hadn't budged since she fell asleep during his debate with himself). When he thought about it some more, it would be considering taking advantage of her, and at this point, he wanted nothing in common with Tadase.

Nagihiko still couldn't believe how Tadase could have done such a thing to this innocent girl.

[**C**_a_st**l**_e_s a**n**_d_ pa**l**_a_ce**s**, **t**_e_mp**l**_e_s a**n**_d_ do**c**_k_s.]

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**Daisy: Responses to the reviews of the chapter I wrote!**

**Response to Miki Is Me: Thanks. we're doing our best... it's difficult writing a story with someone else. But now that Taiga's taking a break... I think now that I liked it better when we were doing things together. I always appreciate your compliments, though :)**

**Response to dollisaur: Yes, we're developing into the heart of the story. I'm sorry it took such a long time to update, but thanks for taking the time to review, honey.**

**Response to Blossoming Hope: I don't think I've seen one of your reviews since the old days of "Restoring Us"... However, I'm glad to know that you appreciate my work. Thank you.**

**Response to Sweet Laya: If Yaya hadn't been drunk, herself, she wouldn't have let Rima drink. And where would we be now if Rima hadn't gotten drunk at the party? Bored with no exact plot, that's where :)**

**Response to icysu22: That's one of the best things about Nagihiko, isn't it?**

**Response to i-is-animefreak: Sorry about that, Taiga-chan is sort of a grammar nazi. You have to forgive her, though, she's just so adorable. And **_**everyone **_**blames Tadase, dear. I don't think you're the only one.**

**Response to Chika Hoshi: If you haven't guessed by now, sweetheart, I was never mad at you. I was a bit offended, that's all. I'm sorry if it came across the wrong way.**

**Response to Riri-chi: Awwww, you're so nice! It's wonderful to hear a compliment about your story, you know. it just keeps you motivated, moving, and willing to do better the next time. Don't you think that the power of reviews are an amazing thing? We've got some pretty powerful poeple up here :) ... In all, though, thank you for your kind words.**

**Response to xRimaxHikox: I get what you're saying. I think it **_**is **_**a bit more comforting to know that Rima wasn't doing those things an a coherent state. That's the pull of underaged drinking, for you. You have one, just to get people off your backs, and then you have more and more, whether you want then or not. I, myself, have never delt with teenaged drinking, but I've read a lot of stories, and you know what they say: Reading is knowledge, and knowledge is power!**

**Response to Kuroda Chiaki: Hahaha... Nii-chan does have a way of pounding the **** out of people.**

**Response to LizzieGlee12: I love it how you go from high on fluffy happiness, to yelling and cursing. It's one of your many wonderful qualities.**

**Response to bma925: You're halfway correct about everything you just said, there. It's sort of amazing... in a BluePanda800 kind of way.**

**Response to LuvMeOrHateMe: Whoa...**

**Response to forgive-forget-princess: I think everyone who reads this story will feel what you're feeling, now. And as for your question, Taiga has temporarily paused writing, so I will be writing the next few chapters of this. as for how many chapters we're expecting this to be... we really have no idea, which is wierd for me. I'm used to having everything planned out. It's exciting, btu I'm also really sad about losing Taiga-chan.**

**Rose: NOW REVIEW TAIGA'S FINAL CHAPTER FOR A WHILE! *goes off to cry***


	7. Odds

**Haruna: Hey, guys! It's me, Rose, but just with a new name. If you haven't already noticed, Daisy has changed her name, too. It's now Kanon.**

**Kanon: Yeah. Because we've now merged accounts. So we wanted sort of a fresh start. This is nice, to say the least.**

**Haruna: And now that Taiga is sitting out for a while, I'll be writing in for her. So this is the chapter **_**I **_**wrote. I know my writing style is a lot different than their's, so bear with me.**

**Kanon: We don't own anything. AND WE MISS YOU, TAIGA-CHAN! TT^TT**

**Haruna: I bet everyone else does, too. Now on with my chapter.**

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[**M**_y_ **b**_l_ue-**g**_r_ey **a**_n_kl**e**_t_s o**f** _p_ai**n** _c_li**n**_k_ _w_it**h** _e_ve**r**_y_ st**e**_p_,  
**a**_t_ th**i**_s_ ho**u**_r_ wh**e**_n_ he**a**_r_ts **a**_r_e d**e**_e_p i**n** _t_he**i**_r_ h**i**_d_in**g** _p_la**c**_e_s.]

**According To Him**

**Chapter Seven**

**Odds**

Rima woke up the next morning with a headache like you wouldn't believe. She didn't remember anything that'd happened the day before, and she never remembered veen getting into bed, But yet, she was here, feeling like a mess. She was getting sick of being sick all the time, and she mentally blamed everyone for what'd happened to her. But on the inside, she knew it was her own fault. No one could save her from the child she was going to give birth to, and she couldn't keep this secret from everyone for too long. It would start showing. She didn't even _want _to think about how it would effect her relationship with her friends. Yaya, Kukai, Tadase, Amu... Especially Amu. She knew the child would tear them apart. Amu would _never _forgive her for doing what she did with Tadase.

And the worst part was, it was inescapable.

Rima sat up in bed. She certainly didn't look pregnant, but she felt pregnant. She felt the little, shapeless bump occupying her every movement, making it hard for her to pull her knees up to her chest like she normally would. The fact that she could already _feel _a baby starting to grow scared her out of her wits. And still, the only one who knew was Nagihiko.

And suddenly, she heard the vibrating sound of her cell phone ringing. It reverberated over the wooden surface of her nightstand, making a shrill noise as it did. Rima after rubbing her eyes to keep herself awake, reached over and grabbed it. She didn't even look at the caller ID before she answered, but she should have. Oh, she should have.

"Hello?" She answered sleepily, sounding worse than she ever had before.

_"Hey, Rima."_

Rima almost choked when she heard Amu's voice. She was _not _ready to talk to Amu, after everything that had happened up to the current point. Even thinking about Amu made her cry, sometimes. Ultimately, she had two options. She could pretend that the line was breaking up like people did on TV, or she could just tell Amu what had happened. She would easily go for the first option, if not for the fact that she had common sense. Now, if only that sense had occured three weeks ago, before anything had happened between her and Tadase.

"Amu?" Rima gripped her hair to calm herself, taking a deep breath.

_"Rima," _Amu cleared her throat. She did NOT sound amused. _"... We need to talk."_

To this day, Rima would swear she had a mini-heart attack when she heard that. It sounded to her like Amu... already knew. But how could she? Rima hadn't told anybody about her pregnancy except for...

_Nagihiko, _Rima thought sickly. _It was him. I knew I couldn't trust that crossdresser. _

But on the outside, she tried to smile, faking a concerned voice. "Um, okay. What's wrong?"

_"It's about Tadase-kun." _Amu offered an explaination, her voice dripping with irritation. _"But not only about him, either. Could you come over?"_

"Sure." Rima nodded. Her head immediately snapped to the digital clock on her nightstand. According to the clock it was already half-past noon, and she wasn't even surprised that she'd slept that long. Lately, all Rima had ever been was tired, crying, or starving to death. She had been so glad it was Saturday, and now she couldn't even sleep any later.

"What time should I come over?" She asked. Amu's house was farther than a walk's distants away, but she was sure she could get her mother to drive her over.

Amu was quiet as she contiplated her answer. Obviously, whatever she wanted to talk about had to have a big time slot. _"Two-thirty."_

Rima was surprised by the coldness of her friend's answer. Usually, AMu would add more to her sentence than she had, but it was apparent that she was upset. And Rima had a sick feeling in her stomach that she knew why.

"Of... course." She nodded, even thought Amu couldn't see the nod. "I'll definitely be there. See you."

_"Yeah. Guess so." _Amu sighed.

And then she just hung up. Rima's amber eyes widened at the dial tone that was playing over and over again on the other end of the line. She was horrified by the fact that Amu had hung up on her; they never ended conversations like that, and if they did, it was because one of their parents told them to get off of the phone.

Suddenly, Rima felt like crying all over again.

_-According To Him-_

"Well, here we are." Ms. Mashiro announced, unlocking the doors to her car.

Rima opened the passanger door, not even stopping to say goodbye to her mother. It was agonizing in the car, riding with her, not saying anything. Rima was always afraid that somehow, Ms. Mashiro would ask her a question that would make her crack, and she would tell all. That feeling made her tense, which also made her mother tense, and so there was never a peaceful moment between them. Besides, Rima had never been particularly close to her parents. She figured not saying goodbye was fine.

And it seemed at if it _was _fine, as Ms. Mashiro didn't say anything more. Rima trudged across the green grass of the Hinamori's front yard, dreading every step that took her closer to the house. But still, she anticipated talking to Amu about everything, and getting it off of her chest. That's how she'd felt when she'd told Nagihiko everything. It was a good feeling.

Soon enough, Rima found herself on the front porch of Amu's house. She lifted her hand to knock on the door, but stopped short, letting her hand slowly rettract. She wasn't ready for this, and she knew it. She _couldn't _tell Amu what'd happened between her and her best friend's boyfriend! It wasn't right! It would break their friendship, and Rima wasn't in the right position to lose anyone. It would break her heart. It would kill her.

And even more than that, it would break _Amu's _heart.

It was too soon. Rima was strongly thinking of turning back around, calling her mother to come back and take her home. She couldn't do this. But before she got a chance to do anything, Amu opened the front door. She was still in her yellow pajamas, her pink hair frizzy and untamed. Her eyes were red, and Rima was sure that she'd just finished crying. It made her wanna cry, too.

"Hey, Rima." She said, sniffling.

Rima swallowed loudly. "Hi, Amu-chan."

"I'm here alone. My parents took Ami out to the movies." Amu said, stepping aside. "Come in."

Rima relunctantly entered the house, taking her shoes off at the main enterance. By now, after seeing Amu look the way she did, she was _sure _she wasn't ready to tell anyone. She shouldn't have even told Nagihiko. She'd never seen Amu that way, and it was starting to scare her. How would she react when Rima began talking? Probably not positively, like Rima could only dream.

Ultimately, she seemed to be trying to pull herself together. She led Rima out into the living room, where old cartoons were playing on the TV. Amu picked up the remote from the table, turning the television off. It was now deadly silent as she signalled for Rima to sit on the couch. Rima did as told, feeling the invisible baby bump as she contracted to do so. It wasn't a good feeling; it only reminded her that the situation she was facing was _real_.

"What's wrong, Amu-chan?" Rima asked.

Amu took a deep breath, rubbing her wet eyes with the back of her hand. "Like I said on the phone, it's about Tadase-kun."

"And...?"

Amu plopped down onto the couch across from Rima, looking more distressed than ever. "I just needed someone to talk to! Tadase-kun... he-he's SO overbearing!"

Rima thought she might die of relief. Of all the sudden emotions she'd had to take on in the past four weeks, this was the nicest feeling she'd ever had. She was relieved to know that Amu was still completely in the dark about everything, and she savored the fact that she had a couple more days, or a week, to stall everything.

Knowing this, she put on the most concerned 'best friend' face she could, smiling a little. "What do you mean, _overbearing_?" She asked, a bit cautious.

"He's too over-protective." Amu replied easily, as if she were relieved about something, as well. "Everytime I do something he's always right behind me, and top be honest, I'm really getting sick of it."

Rima's mind automatically flashed back to the night she'd gone to Yaya's house party, thinking of the fight Amu and Tadase had gotten into over in the corner. Could that fight have been about what Amu was saying? It was highly likely, as Rima _had _noticed that there was a lot of tension between the two lately. Four weeks ago, she would've been surprised at what Amu was saying, but now nothing could surprise her. Nothing at all.

"So why don't you break up with him?" She found herself asking.

Amu, in return, pouted. "Because I really, really like him. Given, he's annoying sometimes, but he can also be really sweet."

Rima rolled her eyes. Typical Amu. "So which one out weighs the other? Is he still really sweet when he's getting on your nerves?" Inwardly, she was a little shocked that she was rooting against Tadase now, because they had been such good friends before. But after what he'd done to her, Rima hadn't known that she was angry. It only made sense for her to be.

"I don't know," Amu admitted, running her fingers through her hair like a comb. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

And before Rima knew it, she was uttering the words she'd forbidden herself to say. "Well, Amu-chan, there's something_ I _wanted to talk to _you _about..."

Amu looked up in surprise. "What it is? I'd like to hear anything that'll take my mind off the Prince."

"Okay." Rima swallowed. She wasn't ready for this. Amu's eager face made her crumble in shame, and she just _couldn't _cause any more trouble for her than Amu already had stacked up for herself. "So, um, about Tadase-kun..."

"Oh." Amu's face fell. "So it's _about _him. Continue."

Rima opted for the best reasoning, easily. A lie. "... He... really loves you, Amu-chan. I can see it. I think you should think about it more before you start deciding anything. He only wants to protect you."

Amu sighed again. "You're right. I'm so stupid."

"It's okay." Rima smiled, dying on the inside. "Maybe you're meant to be together, maybe not. We'll see, okay?"

"Thanks, Rima. You're always good at things like this."

"How about we go to the kitchen and get some ice cream?"

Amu smiled. "That sounds great. I really need that."

And Rima needed it, too. More than Amu knew. But odds were, she was about to find out very soon.

[**M**_y_ **b**_l_ue-**g**_r_ey **a**_n_kl**e**_t_s o**f** _p_ai**n** _c_li**n**_k_ _w_it**h** _e_ve**r**_y_ st**e**_p_.]

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**Kanon: Now I'll be responding to the reviews on Taiga's chapter...**

**Response to Chika Hoshi: LOL... really true. But Taiga-chan tends to take the softer approach at her words. That's something I really love about her, you know? I'm glad that you're still reading Chika, and I hope things are patched up between us. I'm sorry TT^TT**

**Response to icysu22: I don't think Rima will be okay for a long time, dear. **

**Response to xRimaxHikox: Well, my guess is that he's spent most of his life as a girl, so he would have to sit through female health classes, and so on. But you're right... he would be such an amazing daddy to someone. And I don't really think he can hate anyone, but he'll do anything to be on Rima's side through this, I think. **

**Response to SeeingXxViolet: Thank you, but what do you mean by making Tadase a jerk? I think he was pretty in-character, except for the party scene because he was half drunk. He's still polite and all that shizzzz. Anyways, I actually LIKE Tadase, opposite to what you may like to believe. He's a sweet and caring character, and he might be one of my favorites, though I'm a firm believer in amuto. Anyways, thanks for all the compliments. I love them, and they help a whole lot.**

**Response to Kuroda Chiaki: I shall try my hardest to follow all of your orders, ma'am. *salute***

**Response to xxEu-chan: I SHOTTED YOU! MUWHAHAHAH! Don't be sad, deary. The story wouldn't be half of what it was if Nagihiko was the father. Actually, I think it would be totally different. **

**Response to bma925: Haha, that's kinda exactly what Ali-chan said.**

**Haruna: Thank you, everybody for all the lovely reviews! I know we say it a lot, but I still think we don't say it enough. Reviews are a special thing.**

**Kanon: Help us build strong writers! Write good reviews! Not just for us, but for everyone! We all deserve them, no matter what we write! **

**Haruna: But first can you review MY chapter?**

**Kanon: *shoots***

**Haruna: REVIEW! *Dies***


	8. Probably

**Kanon: *too tired to speak***

**Haruna: She's worn out. It took forever to get this chapter up. FFN was being stupid, so it took all day.**

**Kanon: I'm so done with this, you don't even know it.**

**Haruna: Anyways, we own nothing.**

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[**A**_b_ov**e** _u_s, **s**_t_ar**s**. **B**_e_ne**a**_t_h u**s**, **c**_o_ns**t**_e_lla**t**_io_n**s**. **F**_i_ve **b**_i_lli**o**_n_ **m**_i_le**s** _a_wa**y**,  
**a** _g_al**a**_x_y d**i**_e_s, **l**_i_ke** a** _s_no**w**_fl_a**k**_e_ fa**ll**_i_ng **o**_n_ wa**t**_e_r.]

**According To Him**

**Chapter Eight**

**Probably**

Rima, for the first time since a while ago, was happy. Happy because she'd made her best friend happy, and happy because she'd kept her secret a secret. She didn't know how long she could keep this up for people started noticing things, but she figured that as long as she could keep everyone in the dark, she would try. So the day carried on that Rima and Amu ate ice cream, had a pillow fight, and watched sad Disney movies. It reminded Rima of when they were in elementary school... when they had less to deal with. By now, everybody had their own complex set of problems they had to deal with; Amu's current boyfriend situation, Yaya failing in school, Kukai being by himself while Utau was on tour, and Rima's parents splitting up, to just name a few. In turn, people might've assumed that it was 'easy' for them to start going to parties and drinking away their worries, but that was the opposite of the truth. As a matter of fact, the former guardians thought of underaged drinking as another one of their problems, but it helped them forget everything that was going on with them back at home. And if it did, no matter how bad it tasted, or how much it stung their throats, or even how much they didn't remember the next day, it helped them forget.

They needed to 's why when Amu excused herself to the bathroom in the middle of _Cinderella_, Rima's wasn't too thrilled. Really, she was glad to now be alone in her thoughts, but it was what happened after Amu was gone that really annoyed her. Here she was, by herself on the couch, pillow squeezed to her chest while she was anticipating the evil stepmother's next move, when her cell phone buzzed. Very irritably, she shifted around to get it out of her pocket. She hadn't started to get fat yet, so Rima was going to enjoy skinny jeans while she could. And even as she moved, she could feel that tiny, formless yet rock hard bump... the feeling of being inhabited.

Never-the-less, she checked the screen of her phone, expecting to see that it was Yaya texting her about the upcoming history test, or even her mother asking when she would be home. But no. It was none of those people. Rima's amber eyes widened as she looked at the text on the screen.

_**To: **__Rima_

_**From: **__Nagihiko_

_**Subject: **__none ;)_

_Rima-chan, where are you right now?_

Rima frowned. It was Nagihiko. He was _texting _her. Just how, anyways, did he get her phone number? Conspiratorially, it must've been Amu or Yaya... only they would do something so horrible. But now he wanted to talk. Great. Rima wanted strongly to text him back and say, _"None of your business, creep," _but she didn't. Instead, she flipped open her phone to the keyboard, and started typing right back at him.

_**To: **__Nagihiko_

_**From: **__Rima_

_**Subject: **__Re: none ;)_

_At Amu-chan's house, FYI. Why do you care?_

He was the only person who knew her secret. If he wanted to, he could tell the whole world... and destroy her life within a second. She could lose her friends, family, and everyone who might've actually cared about her. If he wanted to, that is. So Rima thought that she'd better be nice to him, or else. Well, as nice as she could be to someone like Nagihiko. Someone who was _too _nice.

_**To: **__Rima_

_**From: **__Nagihiko_

_**Subject: **__Re: Re: none ;)_

_Trust, me I don't :P... Just bothering you, that's all. Anyways, are you gonna tell her?_

Straight-forward. Before Rima answered, she looked behind her to make sure Amu wasn't anywhere in earshot. If she heard this, it was all over. When she was positively sure that Amu _wasn't _going to enter the room in any sort of quick fashion, she turned back to her phone. Resenting each little musical tone, Rima padded Nagihiko's number into the keyboard. She wasn't about to have this conversation with him over texts, which anyone could just open and read if they wanted to. This was serious. This was worthy of an actual phone call, even though she hated he. She never thought there would be a day when Mashiro Rima would call Fujisaki Nagihiko... well, not in good health, anyways. But then again, she never thought there would be a day when she would get pregnant with her best friend's child.

The phone was ringing.

_"Hello?" _Nagihiko answered, sounding confused. Guess he hadn't thought there would be a day like this, either.

Rima, without identifying herself (he had her number. He knew who she was), carried on with an answer to his question. "I'm actually not going to tell her, if you wanted to know so badly. I probably won't tell her until I have to."

_"But how long will that be, Rima-chan? Do you even know?" _He asked. _"Tomorrow? Day after? Next week? You can't keep it from everyone for forever."_

"Listen." Rima said, gripping a couch pillow for dear life. "If you hadn't been so nosy that day, _you _wouldn't even know, so just. Shut. Up."

There was silence in the air, now. Rima figured that she should've lowered her tone a bit... she wasn't exactly _mad _at him, and she definitely didn't want Amu to hear her, wherever she was. In the thick quiet, she was afraid that she'd offended him. If she had, would he tell anybody?

"I'm sorry." She apologized, her words quick. She couldn't let this happen. "I just... I don't wanna tell anybody right now, okay? I'm sorry. Please... don't... tell... anyone..."

Rima covered her mouth with her hand. Not out of shock, and not even because of something she'd said. She was trying to muffle her sobs, as tears ran down her cheeks. Finally, the whole weight of the situation crashed down on her. That fact because of something she did, she would hurt _so _many people. Not only Amu and Tadase, but her parents. Her parents would probably kick her out, or get a divorce, or both. Then where would she go? Definitely not to Yaya, because Yaya would hate her, too. And Kukai wouldn't get into anything that didnt concern him. And Rima didn't concern him, to say the least. And who was she kidding? She could mother a child! A living, breathing child that needed to be fed, clothed, and whatnot. She wasn't even sure she could give birth to it. She would have no where left to turn. She would be alone, for once.

Finally, Nagihiko spoke. _"Rima-chan... don't cry. I'm not trying to run your life, okay? I just don't wanna see you hurt. And lying to other people will do that to you."_

"I'm not lying," She said, the words barely audible because of her crying. "I'm just not telling the truth. I don't want to tell the truth! I don't even know how I got here..."

_"It's okay," _He assured her. _"I probably shouldn't be judging you, should I?"_

Before Rima got to answer, something happened. Amu was coming out of the hallway, now fully dressed. She had a hairbrush in her hand, and was huming lightly as she ran the brush through her pink locks. She looked over Rima's head at the TV, observing the fact that the prince was now already putting the glass slipper on the Cinderella's foot. Apologetically, she sighed.

"Sorry I missed half of the movie," She smiled. "I was getting dressed. Who are you talking to?"

Rima's faultered, her hands shaking. Amu stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that Rima was crying... it looked like this confession was going to come sooner than she'd expected.

Amu slowly put her hair brush down on the coffee table. "Rima? What's wrong?"

_"Rima? What's wrong?"_

Funny, that was the exact same thing Nagihiko was asking her now. Rima without really thinking of the repercussions of this action, steadied her grip on her cell phone. "Cross-dresser? I've got to go."

Amu made an amused expression, but RIma knew it was just to cover up her worry. Slowly, Amu settled herself onto the couch in front of Rima, putting a comforting hand on her knee. "You're talking to _Nagi_? Rima, what's up? You can tell me."

Rima set her phone down on the couch behind her, trying to calm herself down. There was no way she could tell Amu what was going on if she couldn't even get two words out. With struggle, she brought herself down to a hiccuping level, where the only effect her crying had on her was shaking and sniffling. "Amu-chan?" She said, looking up at her friend. "I have to tell you something."

"... Okay." Amu replied, recoiling her hand from Rima and pulling it back to her own side. She kept her eyes on Rima's golden ones, waiting for whatever it was that was making her cry.

Rima took a deep breath before she started. This was a big step for her. A giant one, actually. "The truth is... that I'm... I'm... pregnant."

Now, just like when she'd been on the phone with Nagi, silence hung in the air. Both the girls just stared at each other, waiting for the reaction that wouldn't come. Amu's eyes shot wide open, taking all of this in. Rima was having a hard time excepting it as well. Had she really just said that? Was it actually true? What would Amu say? It was terrifying, this silence.

Amu swallowed, staring at Rima like she was a whole different person. "Oh... my God. Oh, my _God_. I'm sorry, Rima."

"But that's not all." Rima couldn't believe she was saying this. "There's more."

"What else?" Amu questioned, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Is it... the _father_?"

She nodded, looking down at the couch. Her sight became blurred at tears stained the fabric, clouding up her vision like a child's breath on a window. "It's... the father is, I mean... He's _Tadase-kun_, Amu-chan. I'm so sorry."

And then Rima looked up, emphasizing the situation with an expression that would make you shoot a puppy if she asked you to. But what she saw on her friend's face made her eyes go wide. Of course, she'd anticipated this sort of reaction, but she never imagined it being so horrible. Amu's face was dripping with shock, her amber eyes wide in a disbelieving way. Her face had lost most of it's color, and she didn't move. She wouldn't dare. The only thing that moved were the tears that arose in her eyes. Rima had to force herself not to look away as they spilled over her cheeks. She had betrayed Amu. She was a traitor.

Then, without a word, Amu shot up from the couch, her face changing in an instant. She still looked outrageously heartbroken, but along with that sadness was anger. From here, with Rima looking up at her, it looked like Amu wanted to spit on her. But she didn't stay long enough to even think about doing that, or selse she would have. Instead, Amu fled from the room, leaving her hairbrush by the lamp. Leaving the ice cream on the coffee table. Leaving Cinderella playing on the TV. Leaving her ex-best friend _alone_. Rima felt like dying when she heard Amu's bedroom door slam.

But rather than that, she broke down. Rima couldn't take it. On the TV screen, you could see Cinderella and Prince Charming riding off in their carriage together, about to start a happy married life. Happily Ever After, right? But no. Rima would have none of that, now. As her tears ran down her face, and onto the couch beneath her, she knew that she would never have any of it. Amu would tell everyone, and she would be ruined. And it was all her fault.

Amidst her sobs, she managed the grab her cell phone from where she'd placed it earlier. Nothing was ever going to be the same. She'd hurt her best friend, and now she was paying for the horrible mistake she'd made. Tears were nothing compared to how she felt.

_**To: **__Nagihiko_

_**From: **__Rima_

_**Subject: **__I told her_

_Can you come pick me up? I don't think Amu-chan wants my company now. Or maybe not ever again. Probably._

[**_F_**_ive **b**illi**o**n **m**ile**s** awa**y**,  
**a** gal**a**xy d**i**es, **l**ike** a** sno**w**fla**k**e fa**ll**ing **o**n wa**t**er._]

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**Kanon: I cried while writing this chapter TT^TT**

**Haruna: Kanon, this is the segment during which I respond to my reviews... please go away, now.**

**Response to Huyu-Chan: Me, too. I kinda feel bad for turning the readers against him, though. Kinda.**

******Response to Kuroda Chiaki: Yay? Amidst my confusion, I agree.**

**********Response to Miki Is Me: Thanks, Miki-chan. You're always so nice in your reviews. Happy writing to you, too.**

**************Response to xxEu-chan: Well, Kanon loves to fool people. She told me to put that in there. But I bet you've been subjected to her trickery before, haven't you (Favorite Girl)?**

******************Response to bma925: There's still plenty of time for her to 'knock his tail out', if that's what you'd like to hear. And I promise to give Taiga-chan a holler for you ;)**

******************Haruna: THanks, everyone. Sorry the replies were short.**

******************Kanon: They don't care. Review.**


	9. Fortune

**Kanon: We've been updating on a roll lately.**

**Rose: And we're trying to keep it up, we swear. But if you've read some of Kanon-chi's other work, you'd know that this only means that there'll be a six-month chapter wait somewhere in this story.**

**Kanon: You ruin my spirit, Haru-chan. You always do.**

**Rose: Well, I had to tell them the truth, otherwise we'd just be lying to them all the time. **

**Kanon: Whatever. We own NOTHING!**

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[**T**_h_e s**k**_y_ is **a**_l_wa**y**_s_ ch**a**_n_gin**g**. **C**_a_n't **i**_t_ se**tt**_l_e d**o**_w_n?  
**S**_h_ad**e**_s_ of **b**_l_ue, **t**_h_en **r**_e_ddy **h**_u_e, **p**_u_ffs **o**_f_ gre**y** _a_nd **w**_h_it**e**.]

**According To Him**

**Chapter Nine**

**Fortune**

It took Nagihiko roughly fifteen minutes to get over to the Hinamori's. When he did, Rima was waiting for him on the front porch. Her golden hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, her amber eyes staring at at the ground. Of course, she wasn't seeing the soft, warm grass like he was... she wasn't even there with him. She was seeing something else, being far away. Whatever it was, it was making things worse than she sounded when she'd called him... though, she'd finished crying, and that was a good sign. Nevertheless, it hurt him to see her like this. In this state. Which she wasn't in for long, obviously, for as soon as she saw him pull up in his car, she shot up from where she'd been sitting and nearly bounded for shotgun. Rima would do anything to get away from this place.

Nagihiko took it that things didn't go well between her and Amu.

Rima didn't say anything as she fell into the seat beside him. She closed the car door, put her cell phone in her pocket, and crossed her arms. This was Rima-language for, _"There is no way in hell I'm talking to you right now."_

And he respected that. There was thick silence between them in the car, but he disregarded it, turning the engine back on and starting the car. She sound of the car turning on was much louder than it should've been, to Nagihiko, but to Rima it sounded like a savior. It was an odd prospect. Rima gazed out of the open window, her eyes still red from crying, and took in the breeze. It was a beautiful autumn day, she had to admit. But after what had happened in Amu's living room, she doubted anything would ever be this beautiful again.

Nagihiko didn't like to see her like this. So, breaking her strict no-speaking rule, he decided to talk to her. "Rima-chan..."

Rima didn't turn around as he expected. She didn't glare, or make any sort of face. No rude remarks. No emotion at all. Instead, she just kept staring out of the window, her lips pressed together in a tight line. "Where do I go from here?" She asked.

He kept his eyes on the road. "I don't know what you mean."

"Who do I turn to next?" She elaborated. "Do I tell my parents? Tadase-kun? Yaya-chan or Kukai?"

He didn't answer. After this afternoon, he thought he'd helped her enough.

This time, Rima moved. She glanced down at her worn sneakers, placing her hands in her lap. Her shoulders began to shake. "Or does it even matter? In the end, isn't it all going to turn out the same way?"

"I can't answer that." Nagihiko replied, turning to look at her. It broke his heart. "But I can do something else."

"And what's that?" She asked, taking a deep breath.

At that moment, Nagihiko took a cautious right turn, changing the direction they were going in entirely. Rima's eyes went wide, frantically gazing up at him, her eyes pleading.

"We're not going back, are we?" She questioned.

"Nope." was all her offered as a response, but that's all she needed. She rested easy in her seat, her eyes immediately reverting back to the her shoes. These were the same old shoes that she wore the night of Yaya's party, the night she'd lost her virginity.

All of a sudden, she didn't really care where they were going. As long as it was somewhere far away.

_-According To Him-_

It turns out, they hadn't went back to Amu's house, after all. Nagihiko had driven to the complete opposite side of town, to Rima's utter surprise (but hey, she was thankful). She pressed her nose against the glass turn after turn, gazing at the unfamiliar scenery she looked at. All around them were fields and forests, and rainbow-painted clouds. The sun was beginning to set, whatever time it was. Rima hadn't known that there was a place like this in Seiyo. But if there was, and there definitely was, Nagihiko would know, wouldn't he?

"Where..." She drifted off, licking her dry lips. Her voice was dripping with questioning daze. "Where are we going?"

Nagihiko shrugged, but didn't turn to look at her. He kept his eyes on the road. "I don't know. Just driving."

Rima rolled her eyes, peering rather than out of the window, but out ahead through the windshield. She hadn't noticed, but they were the only ones _on _the road. So typical. Now she had no witnesses if Nagihiko just pulled over and murdered her. Obviously, Rima was very lacking in sleep. That and the emotional turmoil she had just gone through equalled random thoughts floating through her mind... such as these.

"So after this," She continued, just trying to get herself focused. "I mean, after today, I tell Tadase-kun, right?"

"It depends on who you think'll be more on your side."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but if I were you, I'd go to your parents."

Rima sighed, her eyes dropping again. "Well, it's a good thing you're _not _me, isn't it? It would only turn out the same way it just did with Amu-chan. She turned on me, they'll turn on me, he'll turn on me... you'll turn on me."

Nagihiko wanted desperately to answer that accusation, but he figured that he better keep his mouth closed, from where they stood now. This wasn't the exact best time to try to move in on someones girl. Especially after what had just happened to her. She needed a friend, and nothing more, or else she'd take his actions the wrong way. But she wasn't someones girl, was she? She wasn't _anyones _girl. Which would only make it so much harder.

So instead of saying what he was thinking, Nagi only smiled. Towards the open road, of course. "It's not about any of that, you know. It's not about where you've been, or what's happened, or what's _going _to happen. It's only where you are now."

_Smart ass, _Rima thought bitterly. Where _was _she now, anyway? Oh, right, she was in the passenger seat of his car. Was he trying to make a joke, or something? Because if so, she didn't think it was funny. Not at all.

Amidst her little mental trial (which was sentencing him to life in prison), Nagihiko pulled over. Her eyes shot wide open as he came to a stop, driving into the grass of the field on their right. Soon enough, the car was off, sitting in the grass under the nearly set sun. The sky was an array of different sherbet colors; pink, orange, purple. But at the very top, there was a black night that was beginning to seep down onto the horizon. From behind the window, Rima pressed her hand up against the glass. The sky made her think of her life; of course, it was all pretty and dandy for now, but soon enough, the dark reality of what she'd done would begin to overtake her existence. She would no longer be Rima, but That One Pregnant Girl, and after that, The One Girl Who Slept With Hotori Tadase in others hindsight. And the worst part of it was, she couldn't control it.

Nagihiko extricated the keys from the ignition as she went over this in her head, opening his own car door. She didn't see him walk around in front of it, so it startled her when he opened _her _door. Rima looked up at him with suspicious, amber eyes; just where, exactly were they? Out in the middle of a field, that's where. Rima was skeptical as she took his hand.

She narrowed her eyes, too. "Are you gonna kill me, or something? Because if not, this is weird..."

Nagihiko, for once, rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's right. I'm gonna kill you."

Rima was surprised. She hadn't thought that he had an eye-rolling muscle in his system. Nevertheless, she allowed him to pull her up into a standing position. And then they walked. Just randomly walking, leaving the car door wide open. Why shouldn't they, though? It's not like there was anyone else out there. Rima wondered how she'd gotten into this situation as she looked around. There wasn't a soul in sight. They were alone.

Oh, she knew what he was doing. He might as well have been wearing a T-shirt that read _The Rebound Guy_. But she was grateful. Nagihiko was the only one sticking by her in all this, so how else was she going to repay him? Of course, Rima wasn't going to let him have his way with her... that's how she'd gotten into this mess in the first place. But where was the harm in letting him _think _he was? There was no rule against it that she could think of, and that was a very good thing.

But in the current moment, he spoke. By now, they were quite a few steps away from the car. For some odd reason, she felt that she might've liked it better in his car, where things weren't so out in the open.

"The sky is always changing." He said, looking up. More of that black darkness had washed over the sky by now.

Rima refused to gaze up with him, though. "Can't it settle down?"

In response, Nagihiko sat down on the grass. She wrinkled her nose at the action, wondering how he would ever get the grass stain off of his jeans. But apparently, none of that mattered to him. So you can imagined what kind of horrors were flashing through her mind when he patted the spot next to him. This was the world-wide signal for _'sit here'_, she knew. But she didn't want to. _Relax_, She sharply told herself, taking a deep breath through her nose. _Let him think he's the one in charge_.

So Rima did, closing her eyes and settling herself down onto the ground. The grass was shockingly soft and thick, almost enough for her to bury her fingers in. When arriving here, she was skeptical of this place, but now she thought that maybe she like it. It helped her calm down so she could think, which was something that'd been strictly out of the question with everything that had been going on lately. So she wondered if this was where Nagihiko came when he needed to think.

"I don't think the sky could ever settle down," He said presently. Though his voice was not of the present. To Rima, he sounded far away. "If it did, we would have no sunsets or sunrises... no clouds, and no stars."

The mention of stars _forced _Rima to look upward. Now she knew what he'd been staring at. The stars out in the field were gorgeous. They were bright and calming in the night sky, free of the light pollution that always clouded Rima's view of them back in the city. The sight was so beautiful that it made her gasp.

"Yeah." Nagihiko smiled, inwardly chuckling. "It's something. Makes you wish you paid attention in astronomy, huh?"

"Yeah." Rima agreed instantly. It would've been wonderful for her to look at the stars and know the many stories behind them, but she couldn't. That was one of the things she wished she could go back and undo. One among others.

Rima noticed a bright star close to the horizon. It seemed to be the shiniest one of them all, almost blinding her when she looked directly at it. She star seemed to be all alone and by itself, a safe distance away from any of the other really notable stars out there. Somehow, this certain star felt nearer to her than any other she had seen that night. She felt the weight of it tugging on her heart-strings... as if she knew it, somehow. She could relate to it.

"What's that star?" She asked, stretching out her arm to point to it.

Nagihiko didn't have to squint to see it. It was blazing. "That one? That's Canis Major. It means 'Big Dog'... if you look very closely, and connect the surrounding stars, you can tell it's a dog."

"Right." Rima replied, although no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't seeing any sort of dog. Or at least, any kind of dog _she _had ever seen. And besides that, she needed another name to call it by. She knew she would never remember 'Canis Major'. "Does the dog have a name?"

Nagi nodded. "Yeah. Sirius. The Greeks used to think that the star could bring good or bad fortune for different people."

"Really?"

"You bet. They even used to bring it offerings on certain days." He elaborated. "They thought that if the constellation was shining brightly, that he accepted the offering. And of course, that meant good fortune for the person and their family"

She was enjoying this conversation. This was the first time in a while that she'd actually been interested in something. And that might've been an understatement, she thought, as she stretched back and laid out on the ground. She didn't care about grass-stains anymore; she just wanted to be able to look up at the stars and not care about anything else.

"So... what happens if Sirius doesn't like your offering?"

"I don't know. I guess bad things happened. But there was always time for another shot at it. There always was."

Rima began to feel the baby bump again, restricting certain movements she made. This time when she felt it, she didn't feel so bad afterwards. She maybe even felt... good. To think that she was being inhabited, or that there was someone who _needed _her? It was strange. Rima had spent her whole life depending on other people, and now being depended on felt really good. This was a living, breathing person that was inside of her. It was going to have a gender, a name, and a life. So no matter what else she lost, she always had that one little person clinging to her.

"Rima-chan?" Nagihiko prompted, looking down at her. His brown eyes pierced her. "You _do _know there's always time for another go, right?"

"I do." She murmured, her eyes fixed on the sky. She and her little person were going to be alright. _It's all going to be okay_, she promised herself. _I know it_.

She was still chanting this when she fell asleep.

[**S**_h_ad**e**_s_ of **b**_l_ue, **t**_h_en **r**_e_ddy **h**_u_e.]

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**Kanon: Now for the responses to my reviews!**

**Response to Chika Hoshi: You'll see what the little rhymes are for soon enough. And if you ever have a question about who wrote them or what poems they're from, just ask. And yeah, there are many scary things about being pregnant at fifteen. It's not supposed to be a nice, cute story, but whatever. And happy four hourse before Thanksgiving to you, too!**

******Response to SeeingXxViolet: Yeah, what would we do without him? This story would be nothing without all the drama and problems, you know. And don't worry about offending me- you didn't. I was just funning.**

**********Response to xXRimaxNagiXx: YOU CHANGED YOUR USERNAME! *Tears wood off of wall savagely with teeth* HOW COULD YOU? Anyways, I don't think you get the gist of the honorifics. Rima added the honorific to Tadase's name because she had to. Not adding an honorific would imply that she knew him very personally, and is something that is reserved for lovers or close family. ANYWHO- I AM MAD! **

**************Response to xxEu-chan: Many other people never saw it coming, either. That is, once again, the wonder of me working my magic foolery! If you ever need a new hanky, just ask. I have a whole bunch set aside strictly for Rimahiko strife.**

******************Response to pinkkittyninja: You can't rip his head off quite just yet, deary. We have to wait until he's no longer needed in the story, then I'll give you the when.**

**********************Response to bma925: Haha, you'd be a better therapist than I would, believe me.**

**************************Response to LyricalAngelFangirl: ... I got Rick-rolled three times this week. Doing reports together IS pretty hard... especially when you're always paired with your sister, no matter what you do. Thanks for the compliment, hon. You'r almost like a BG (this girl who reviews everything a write before It's been online for an hour).**

**************************Kanon: Thank you to everybody.**

**************************Haruna: I'm gonna stop demanding reviews, now. To give you guys some bresathing air, You don't have to if you don't want to. Don't hink I'm gonn come after you with a chainsaw in your sleep.**

**************************Kanon: But I might.**

**************************Haruna: Kanon-chan! -.-"**


	10. Sorry

**Kanon: We're back again! Updating fast, now... I love it.**

**Haruna: But at some point we have to pause. We want Taiga-chan to return _before _the story's over, you know.**

**Kanon: Hahaha, yeah. **

**Haruna: We own NOTHING!**

* * *

[**I** _c_ann**o**_t_ fee**l** _y_ou**r** _w_in**g**_s_ ar**o**_u_nd **m**_e_. **I** _c_ann**o**_t_ fee**l **_y_ou**r**  
_l_ov**i**_n_g ar**m**_s_ em**b**_r_ac**e** _m_e. **T**_h_er**e** _i_s o**n**_l_y em**p**_t_in**e**_ss_.]

**According To Him**

**Chapter Ten**

**Sorry**

Rima awoke the next morning to find herself staring at... a deep, complicated grey. She lay on her back, completely dazed as she gazed up at what seemed to be an unforgiving sky. Where was she, anyway? And what was she doing there? These questions filled her head as she continued to eye the oddity of the situation, whatever it was. A grey, cloudless sky... somehow, it seemed so near to her. Shifting her head to the side, across something that felt very different from the ground, she reached up to touch this grey. And was startled when she _did _touch it. Obviously, this -whatever is was- was _not _the sky. She moved her hand across it, feeling the roughness of the fabric against her palm. Then she knocked on it. This was definitely not the sky. So, then, where _was _she? Now, Rima decided, it was time to use her visual contexting. Ever-so-slowly, she tilted her head at an angle, so that she could see what was around her. Then, when she did, it finally dawned on her.

She was in the backseat of a car. To be exact, Nagihiko's car. Apparently, whatever had happened last night, she'd fallen asleep here. Rima shot up immediately, looking around. She still had clothes on, which was always a good sign. Her hair was no longer in the ponytail she'd put it in yesterday, but it was sprawled out, falling over her shoulders. Not a good sign. Quickly, her eyes reverted to the window, to see where they were. Still at the field, under the bright blue sky. She wondered what time it was, and what day it was. Time seemed like a foreign concept, now... so far away from where she was.

Nagihiko was asleep in the front seat.

She couldn't control on her thoughts at once, and her stomach was churning from eating all that ice cream with Amu the day before, so as she'd expected, the thing that happened every morning was about to happen again. She just wished that it wasn't in Nagi's car, even if he _was _asleep.

Rima jerked open the car door closest to her, throwing her legs under herself so that she was on her knees. One hand supported herself on the seat, and the other held her hair out of her face as she lost her lunch. That's right, she puked right into the grass of the once-clean field. Mornings had to be the worst part of the day for her... especially this one. Even after she finished throwing up, there was still that horrid taste left over. Rima wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, looking down at her suddenly-less-than-flat stomach.

"You," She said aloud. "Will be the death of me."

"Good morning, huh?"

To be honest, the voice had scared the crap out of Rima. She jumped, pulling the car door shut with a slam. Only five seconds later did she realize that it hadn't, in fact, been the voice of death, but only Fujisaki Nagihiko. Which was basically the same thing, but still. She narrowed her amber eyes as she faced him. There he sat, in the front seat, turned to smile at her.

"Sorry." He apologized.

"Whatever." She crossed her arms.

He ignored her cold attitude and turned away, searching around the car for his keys. "I guess I should get you home, now."

"I guess so." She agreed. "Anyways, what even _happened_? And what time is it?"

He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed the car keys sitting up on the dashboard. He grabbed them instantly. "You fell asleep, that's what. I was too tired to drive all the way back, and it was dark. If you haven't noticed, there are no streetlights around this part of town. So I just carried you back to the car... you were out like a light."

"Oh." She murmured, watching him put the key into the ignition and start the engine. The rumble of the car didn't help her feel any better; actually, Rima felt very much sick to her stomach... but she wouldn't say it. "So what time would we be getting home?"

Nagihiko looked down at his watch as they began to drive back onto the road. "Well, seeing as it's quarter 'till, I'd say we'd be back a little after three o' clock."

"Three?" Rima's eyes went wide. She'd hoped that it was earlier, so that she could slip into the house without her parents noticing. How long had she slept?

"Yep." He replied. "Have you got an alibi? Because I've got nothing."

That's right. What was Rima going to do about her parents? Certainly they'd want answers, but what was she to say?

Nagihiko, of course, had the answer to everything. Didn't he, though? "You know, you could always just tell them the truth."

Rima shook her head vigorously. "You make it sound easy. My parents' relationship is already on the rocks... I don't want to push it."

"Well, you can tell them now, or you can tell them _later_." He said, getting straight to the point.

"I don't wanna tell them alone..." She drifted off, looking up at that deep, complicated grey. It reminded her that she was always on her own with this thing. This baby.

Nagihiko hated to see her that way. He made a sad left turn, feeling sorry for her. But he knew she didn't want his sympathy. "I'll be there."

She bit her lip. "Promise."

"What?"

"Promise that you will."

Nagihiko's eyes went wide for a moment, mentally calculating the seriousness of the situation. Deep down, he wondered if he really even _wanted _to make this sort of promise, but Rima needed him, right? What kind of friend would he be if he just said no? The worst kind, that's what. So he took the higher road.

"I promise, Rima-chan, I promise."

_-According to Him-_

Just like Nagi had said, the two had arrived in front of Rima's house in fifteen minutes. Those fifteen minutes had been mostly silent, but not the uncomfortabe kind of silence. The warm, safe silence that made her feel like she was loved. That someone, somewhere, was looking out for her. She just wish she could reach them. Especially now, of all times, as she stood on her front porch. It was three on a Sunday afternoon, which meant that both her parents would be home. Today, she would tell them.

So Rima bent down, not so startled by how difficult it had become (she basically had to squat to do it). She lifted up the _welcome _mat on the porch and slid a key out from under it. Her parents weren't home often, so they left the key under the mat for her to be able to get in. Nagihiko watched as she slowly stuck the key into the lock, pacing herself. After slowly turning it around, she heard the soft _click_, but was she ready to go inside?

"Take a deep breath," Nagi prompted her. "You can do this."

She followed his instructions carefully, breathing in through her nose and out of her mouth. He was right; she could do this. And so to prove to herself that it was factual, she pushed the front door open, closing her eyes tightly.

_"Rima? Is that you?"_

Her eyes snapped open, looking around. The front entrance was clear of any soul, so clearly, it was okay to step inside. And with the help of the boy next to her (she was deliriously fretful), she entered her home, closing the door behind her as her feet hit the wood floors. The smell of pasta wafted through the house, and for a moment, Rima felt like she could puke again. That or faint from worry. You know, whichever one came first.

But she didn't have time to do either, apparently, because her mother came scurrying into the entrance room in a flash. She was wearing an apron that was splattered with tomato sauce, and her pale, brown hair was tied into a low bun. Obviously, she was experimenting for work, because she never cooked. That or she had been really worried about her, because Rima had seen her made dinner out of stress before.

"Rima!" She exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. "Where on earth have you been? You've been gone since I dropped you off at Hinamori Amu's yesterday!"

Rima sighed. "I know, Mama, I've just been-"

"And _who _is this?" Ms. Mashiro finally demanded, shoving an accusing finger in Nagihiko's direction.

"Fujisaki Nagihiko." Nagi answered, now understanding why Rima didn't want to have anything to do with her parents. "I drove your daughter here. It was basically my fault."

Rima elbowed him. "It wasn't. Anyway, Mama, is dad here?"

"No. He went out." Ms. Mashiro crossed her arms. "Apparently, we all need to talk. But he'll hear about it later, right?"

Rima knew this wasn't a question. She knew her mother well enough to understand that her sentence translated to, _"We need to talk. NOW. Forget your father."_

This wasn't a good thing.

_-According to Him-_

Five minutes and a cup of tea later, they were all in the living room. Rima and Nagihiko sat on the couch, while Ms. Mashiro sat on the recliner across the coffee table. It was silent as she stirred her cup of tea, now free of her apron and bun. Nobody dared say a word. Rima couldn't take it.

"Okay." She started up, her tone anxious. "Let's just get this over with. Mama, do you _really _wanna know why you haven't seen me since yesterday?"

"Isn't that the point?" Her mother raised an eyebrow.

Rima ignored her. "It's because of something that happened almost five weeks ago."

There was silence in the air. And not the warm, comforting kind that she liked. Without a single word, she felt Nagihiko slip his hand into hers. He was encouraging her... she could do this, right? Right.

"I went to a party at Yaya-chan's house," She swallowed. "And... I guess I just lost control..."

Ms. Mashiro wore a confused expression. "So... what, then? You got drunk? Is that it?"

"No. That's not it." She shook her head, biting her lip.

And then she felt Nagihiko squeeze her hand. It reminded her that whatever happened here today, he would be by her side. He'd promised. So she nodded her head, and turned her eyes back to her mother.

"There's really no other way to say this." She admitted, tears coming to the edges of her eyes. "The truth is that I'm..." She wiped her face with the back of her hands, looking at the wetness of her palm in surprise. "Pregnant."

Rima kept her eyes on her hand, licking her lips. It was a different feeling... there was no yelling, no crying, no gasp. Just quiet. And for once, she didn't completely break down and cry at the mention of the word _pregnant_. She still felt sad, but not devastated. It was odd that she would feel this way, but it brightened her. It made her actually look up at her mother.

Ms. Mashiro's face had gone pale. She just sat there, staring at her daughter. This was the exact same way Rima's face had looked when she'd been in the bathroom of that old convenience store, as a matter of fact. That gaping, disbelieving expression you wore when your whole world crame crashing down.

And then she stood. Her mother's face changed, from shock to disdain in a moment. There were a million other words for that look; disapproval, disappointment, shame... but you know what the worst thing was? Rima deserved it. She deserved it, after all that she'd done, she deserved it. And she knew it. Nagihiko knew it. Amu knew it. Tadase probably knew it already. Yaya, Kukai, and her own father would know it soon enough. She couldn't escape it.

Suddenly, Rima's positive feeling was over.

"Mama..." She murmured, watching her mother leave the room. She didn't stomp, and she didn't run. But the mood in the room changed, leaving Rima with the most horrible thought.

A thought that this would tear her family apart. This would be the last straw. Her parents would get a divorce... and it would be all her fault.

The tears were back, again.

Nagihiko turned to her, his face sympathetic. "I'm sorry, Rima-chan."

"Don't be." She shook her head, a single tear falling down her cheek. "There's nothing left to be sorry for."

[**T**_h_er**e** _i_s o**n**_l_y em**p**_t_in**e**_ss_.]

* * *

**Haruna: Response to my reviews (Because I wrote the Sirius chapter)~**

**Response to xxEu-chan: LOL.**

**Response to icysu22: Thank you. And as for the chapters... we don't really know. Kanon and I haven't spoken to Taiga-chan in a while, so we're waiting for a reply, then we can probably hammer down the plot in specific places. Probably no more than thirty chapters, anyway. If that answers your question, which it doesn't... ^.^"**

**Response to Chika Hoshi: Hey, I just figured out something. Your username means "Scattered stars," right? I don't know... I was searching for names to see what I should name Rima's baby, and I came across that. Now onto the actual response... Yes, the legal driving age is eighteen. Seeing as Nagihiko is actually a few months younger than Rima in the manga, and Rima is fifteen here, let's say Nagi's seventeen and a half. Driving with a permit? Still breaking the law, but still (And besides, this is AU). **

**Response to xXRimaxNagiXx: *Takes pocky* Happy Black Friday! **

**Response to bma925: Well, that's what happens when more than one person is writing a story. With me and Kanon-chan being sisters, we are always constantly writing, and have enough time to check each other's work and continue, you see? And as for the constellations, you should ask Kanon about that. She's crazy about stars, and she knows the name and story of almost every single one. Crazy, right? She's such a nerd xD. Playing God? Never heard that one, but I suppose I'll go do it right now. I _do _rather love Paramore, though.**

**Response to Riri-chi: There's always a bright side to things, isn't there? Well, let's hope Rima can get through to Amu on this one. We haven't even made it through half of the story yet, but we're getting there. And I like Tadase, too. He's such a sweet character.**

**Response to RakkiiHappiiDokiiShinodii: Thank you so much! But I can't take credit for the Rebound Guy bit... it was from the movie Vampires Suck. After Edward left Bella, Jacob came up to Bella's room with a T-shirt on that said Rebound Guy. And I'm glad Rima isn't sad anymore, either. There are always upsides to everything, so let's just hope she finds the upside to this one. And the new daddy ;D.**

**Kanon: Thanks for your reviews, everyone. We wouldn't be able to do this without you!**

**Haruna: Well, we would. We just wouldn't want to, is all.**

**Kanon: Haru-chan, just shut up.**

**Haruna: Yes, ma'am.**


	11. Enough

**Kanon: We're back!**

**Haruna: Thanks for sticking with us up to this point. We really appreciate all our lovely RimaHiko readers and reviewers, no matter how much they flame Tadase and Kirishima. We're so glad we have you!**

**Kanon: Without you, would we have come this far?**

**Haruna: We just want you to know that we think you're awesome. Every single freaking one of you.**

**Kanon: Now, here's what you've all been waiting for! Welcome to chapter eleven of A2H, the one which Haruna (with her amazing talents) wrote. Feel free to proceed to the story.**

**Haruna: Just know that we own NOTHING.**

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[**I**_f _on**l**_y_ I h**a**_d_ jus**t** _s_ta**y**_e_d q**u**_i_et**l**_y_ re**a**_d_in**g **_o_r p**e**_nn_in**g**  
_m_y wo**r**_d_s t**h**_e_ wa**y** _I_ do, **w**_h_il**e** _h_e d**i**_d_ wh**a**_t_ev**e**_r_ it **i**_s_ th**a**_t_ he **d**_o_es.]

**According To Him**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Enough**

Surprisingly, Rima's parents were _not _yelling.

And this surprised her, to be honest. Instead of screaming at her and each other, like she thought they would, they were actually talking together. Like a normal family in a normal situation. After her mother had left the living room, Rima had gone up to her own room, and Nagihiko took his leave twenty minutes later. After an hour of praying and more crying, Rima's dad had arrived home, unknowing of the current going-on-abouts. Without her permission, Rima's mom had told her father about what happened. And after just some intense whispering, they'd invited Rima downstairs to talk to them, and furthur more explain herself.

All in all, they weren't fighting. And that was enough to make her smile.

It was the dawn of November. It was getting chilly. Even as Rima sat at the dining room table, she slightly shivered, silently hoping that later the heat would be turned up. As her parents sat across from her, it was quiet. Nobody was talking. And maybe that was good- she didn't know. All Rima was sure of was that fact that she was sort of happy, or at least grateful, that this hadn't ended badly between her parents.

When Mr. Mashiro saw that it was obvious no one was going to be the first to talk, he sighed. Not an irritated sigh, but an understanding one. His wife put her hands, palms down, on the table, providing only a way that she could avoid eye-contact with their daughter.

"Listen, Rima." He said. "We want you to know that we're not mad at you. We want to help you through this. Your mother and I have talked about this and... well, we'd like to hear how this happened."

Rima's eyes widened. Her parents were being frightfully calm about everything... there must've been some kind of catch. That's probably what it was, she thought. They were going to ask her questions until she said something they could fight about, and then it would be all over. But never the less, she took a deep breathing, only wishing that she could be as calm as them. As she did this, saw their eyes set deeply into hers, beckoning an explaination. Here is where it would start.

Rima looked down. "Well, you remember when I told you that I was going to Yaya-chan's house, to spend the night? ... Sometime last month?"

Both her parents nodded, their faces falling. It didn't matter whether they remembered or not... it was beginning to become clear where Rima was going with this. She had lied to them, straight-faced.

She winced at their reactions, but told herself to continue. "Um... you see, that wasn't completely a lie. I _was_ going to spend the night there, but Yaya was throwing a party first."

Ms. Mashiro and her husband exchanged worried glances. It was obvious what they were thinking. _If Rima has lied to us about this, what else has she lied about? Why would Yaya throw a party? Are the rest of her friends like this? _It was only to be expected, after what had just been said. But they kept quiet, no matter what; they wanted to hear this story.

"It was innocent, at first." Rima went on. "But then, somebody had spiked the punch. We all knew it from the taste, but nobody said anything. After a while, almost everybody was either drunk or halfway there... everybody but me. So Yaya-chan came over and talked me into it. And then, I don't know how long it took, but I was drunk like the rest of them."

Ms. Mashiro finally looked up at her daughter. To Rima's utter shock, her mother's eyes sparkled with tears. She was going to cry. Cry like Rima had cried for the past week. But for some reason, it hurt much more to know that she'd hurt her mother than to know that she'd hurt herself.

"... Is that when it happened?" Ms. Mashiro asked. "Rima, I know I haven't been the... the best mom in the world, but I just want to protect you. I don't want you to ever have to see that Fujisaki boy again."

If Rima had been drinking water, she would've spit it out. Instead, she choked. Hard. She couldn't believe what her mother had said. Her mother thought... she thought that Nagihiko was the father? Of her baby? She didn't know whether to laugh, be offended, cry, or just stay quiet. Even now, she felt red beginning to paint her cheeks. What a horrible thought... but was it that much more horrible than Tadase? She didn't know. But what she did, she was going to say.

"M-mom!" She exclaimed. "He's not the f-father!"

Mr. Mashiro was not, as such, moved by that comment. "Then who is?"

"I... I don't know." Rima lied, biting her lip. She knew that this would only get her into more trouble, but what could she say? Her parents didn't need to know who the father was at that exact moment, and besides... she was having a pretty hard time dealing with knowing, herself. So how would _they _feel?

Instead, Rima stretched her arms out across the table, putting her head down on the wood. Her blonde ponytail fell to one side of her head. She sighed the most tired sigh she had ever given. She wanted to go to bed and forget this whole thing. But more than that, she didn't want her mom and dad to see her cry. She took controlled breaths through her nose so that the hiccuping wouldn't give her away, as tears fell from her eyes and onto the table. To her surprise, she felt each of her parents take one of her hands in theirs... it felt nice. It felt like they wanted to protect her, just like her father had said. She wanted to stay like that forever.

"We just want to help you." Her mother said. "... But what do _you_ want to do, Rima? You still have a lot of options."

"I don't know." Rima replied, her voice stained with tears. For once, she was telling the truth. It felt good.

She hadn't felt good in quite a while, it seemed.

_-According To Him-_

The next day at school, things were just as Rima had expected them to be. Horrible. For the first part of the day, she went on ignoring her friends as she usually did, and it wasn't so bad. But it was when lunch rolled around that everything started seeping in. No longer was everyone sitting at the same lunch table as they used to. Now that Amu knew about Rima and Tadase, she would have nothing to do with either of them. She sat on the complete other side of the cefeteria, with Yaya, who she had undoubtedly told about the situation, as Rima had picked up from the looks she was getting from them. Tadase was no where to be found, which wasn't _too _out of the ordinary. Sometimes he had things he had to take care of, being student counsel president and all. But she knew why he hadn't show up to lunch that day. It was because he knew... Amu had told him.

Now, the only people who were still in the dark about the pregnancy were Kukai, Kairi, and the rest of the school. But they would find out soon enough. Just like Nagihiko had said, she couldn't just run forever.

But she could, in fact, sit at another lunch table. Which is what she did. She quickly got her lunch, said hello to no one, and scuttled over to the most secluded spot in the cafeteria. The corner, that is. As she sat down, she fought the urge to just go back to their regular table. Throughout all this change in her life, and the coming changes, she needed something to stay the same. Maybe it was silly, but that's how she felt.

"You know," Rima said, poking her rock-hard stomach. She was surprised by how sad her voice suddenly sounded. "You're causing a lot of trouble. You're like a little bundle of grief."

But then she felt bad. Could the baby hear her? Probably not, with the bustle of hudnreds of other kids in the cafeteria, but she knew she shouldn't be saying things like that. She rubbed her tummy wistfully, looking around at them all. "But you're _my _little bundle of grief, aren't you?"

She was beginning to grow used to the feeling of being inhabited, and it surprised her. But what would she do when she became uninhabited? After the baby was born? Would she give it up for adoption, or would she keep it? The questions made her head hurt. She didn't want to think about those types of things. And she was lucky because she didn't have to. Lucky for two reason. One, because someone was coming over to her lunch table, and two, because it was none other than Fujisaki Nagihiko.

He didn't even say hello. He put his tray down in front of her and slid into the seat across from her.

"Why are you sitting over here?" He asked her, looking concerned.

She glared at him. "You must be an idiot."

"You're so nice to me." He rolled his eyes. "I'm only a messenger, okay?"

"Whose messenger?" She raised an eyebrow, her tone slightly softening.

Nagihiko began to take his food off of his tray. "Hotori-kun wants to speak to you. In the art room, right now."

Rima's blood ran cold. Of course, it wasn't because Tadase knew. She'd become aware of the fact that he would since she told Amu. What made her cringe was the fact that he wanted to talk to her. About it. About the baby. He wanted answers, options, and maybe even... sollutions. Maybe he would be mad that she'd told Amu. Maybe he would yell at her.

She was afraid of talking to him. "O-Okay."

Nagihiko noticed her facial expression, looking even more worried for her. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Uh, sure." She nodded, trying to look less relieved than she actually was. "Just, um, could you stand outside the door, or something?"

"Yeah. Of course." He smiled, beginning to stand up.

She stood, too. And together, they began walking out of the cafeteria. They passed by their usual table, where Kukai and Kairi sat by themselves, wondering what was going on. Amu and Yaya shot them angry glances. But it didn't bother Rima. She was concentrating too hard on what was about to take place. With Tadase. In this very school. It both scared and excited her. She was only excited because now maybe she could tell Tadase some things she'd been thinking about, dying to say... maybe she could utter words that weren't total lies for once. She could yell at him, too. She could scream at him, hit him, do all the things she'd been dying to do to _someone_. Anyone. Tadase Hotori.

It was a short walk down the hallway to the art room. Rima took this time to think of Nagihiko, who was whistling as he walked beside her. He was so relaxed, so careless. As if this situation he was in didn't make him uncomfortable. As if Rima wasn't too much for him to handle. As if they were friends. Perhaps they were, but Rima didn't know. With how things were going nowadays, she didn't even want to know. It would just add to all the drama. Soon enough, they were standing in front of the art room. Rima wasn't tall enough to see inside the little door window, so there was no way to know if Tadase was already in there. _He probably is_, she thought, remember the type of person he was. _I'm sure as hell not going to ask anybody._

"You'll be out here, right?" She said instead, looking hopefully as Nagihiko.

"I said I would be." He replied simply, leaning against the wall beside the door.

She smiled, nodded, and began to twist the knob on the door. The next few minutes were painfully memorable to her, in hindsight. Presently Rima walked into the room, quietly closing the door behind her, and looks around. There he was. Tadase, that is, sitting on the art teacher's desk. He'd been waiting for her undoubtedly. His blonde hair, crimson eyes, and charming features brought back unwelcome flashbacks. They moved in front of Rima's eyes, giving her an instant headache; it's hard to recover memories from times when you were drunk. The brain tries to hard to make the pictures clear when you actually first saw them blurry. Rima rubbed her temples.

Tadase didn't say hello, or 'how are you?' even. All he did was stand up and walk over to where Rima was standing. She flinched, expecting to hear harsh words and maybe some swears, but what actually happened shocked her. Tadase wrapped his arms around her, pressing her to him in a meaningful hug. Her golden eyes went wide.

"Amu-chan told me." He mumbled into her ear.

"Is she upset?" She whispered, almost afraid of the answer. I response, she felt him nod. And that was good, because she wasn't sure she could handle it in words.

Tadase understood, somehow. "I'm so sorry, Rima-chan."

"I am, too." She replied, her voice cracking around the edges.

He didn't let go of her after that, even when he pulled away. He kept his arms around her, making sure she was safe. "What are we gonna do?" He asked.

"Still trying to figure that out." She said, looking down. "I _do _know that I'm not gonna... kill... it."

"Whatever you think is best." He agreed, looking her over. Her messy, blonde hair and tired eyes. She look of sadness she gave him. The unfocused gaze. She was going through it, he knew.

"Are you absolutetely, positively sure you're okay?"

"Truthfully? No, Tadase-kun. I'm not gonna be okay for a while."

Tadase seemed sad now, as he looked her up and down. Rima would swear to this day that he looked like he was about to cry. His eyes were becoming red. She couldn't see him cry... not over _her_. She would cry, too. So she hugged him again, just so that wouldn't happen.

"God, what did I do?" He murmured.

"What did _we _do." She corrected. "I think we're both at fault here."

He didn't agree to that. "Just promise me something, okay?"

"Okay. What is it?"

"Don't be upset about Amu-chan." He told her. "She'll come around, even if it takes years. We still love her, right?"

She nodded. "Right. Even if it takes years."

_-According To Him-_

Rima closed the door behind her, her eyes wet with tears. Even though she'd promised herself she wouldn't, she ended up crying there right in front of the father of her child. What a nightmare it would've been if he hadn't been so good to her. Now, as she came out into the hall with Nagihiko, she felt a bid empty. Like in there, she'd had all she needed. But letting the situation seep in, she realized that she'd always been empty. Tadase wasn't going to give her what she needed. They'd tried that already, and look where _that _had gotten them. He wasn't enough. No one was enough.

"What's wrong?" Nagi asked her, immediate with concern.

She laughed a little. It felt awkward in her throat, like singing the wrong note in a song. It just wasn't right. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. I'm perfectly fine."

Nagi gave her a look. "Lying isn't for winners."

"He only wanted to talk, okay? Bug off." She retorted, her voice high with greif. "For once, I'm happy. If you care about me, you'll leave us alone."

"Us?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Me and the father of my unborn child." She elaborated, lowering her voice.

He nodded. "I'm happy you two are on the same page now."

She looked at him. She thought of how he'd always been there for her, standing by her side, promising never to turn his back on her _or _the baby. Between him and Tadase, Rima figured she wouldn't need anything else. Maybe together they were enough. Enough to make her happy again. Enough to fix her life. Perhaps this was all she'd needed in the first place. The thought made her feel something she'd never felt before. She wasn't sure if she ever wanted to feel it again.

Affection.

Nagihiko warily scanned the girl standing in front of him. "Rima-chan, why are you looking at me like that?"

Her face crumbled as she held out her arms for him.

"Just shut up and give me a hug."

[**I**_f _on**l**_y_ I h**a**_d_ jus**t** _s_ta**y**_e_d q**u**_i_et**l**_y_ re**a**_d_in**g **_o_r p**e**_nn_in**g**  
_m_y wo**r**_d_s t**h**_e_ wa**y** _I_ do.]

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**Kanon: Response to the reviews of my chappie!**

**Response to Pieishyx: Aw, what a nice thing to say. I'm glad that the story's captured attention, to say the least. I can't explain how much you guys mean to us, really. It's, like indescribable how reviews help the writers on this sight. You should be happy to know how much you've contributed!**

**Response to rImAhIkO4ever: I'm sorry it took so long. We've got so many stories going on right now it's kinda hard to pay attention to them all at the same time. But I think we're gonna be focusing on this and our story "Ultraviolet" for a while. So hopefully we'll have more chapters on this baby.**

**Response to Miki Is Me: Yeah, thanks! What kind of Nagi would Nagi be if he weren't such a good friend? I tell you what, he wouldn't be a Nagi at all! That's the beauty of this story... I think everyone has their own role and place, so that no one's just an 'extra character'. I don't believe in such a thing, as if it exists as all! Every character has his or her own part, no matter who they are. Anyway, excuse my rant... I'm sorry. Just thanks, okay? Happy Valentines Weekend.**

**Response to sweet laya: Once again, I feel flattered by you guys. You're so nice to me and Haru-chan.**

**Response to LovesArrow: Don't worry, there'll be some awesome breakthrough pretty soon, though I can't tell you what happens. You'll just have to wait to find out!**

**Response to Yannami: I think everyone is with you on that one. This is a really tough story for Rima to be Rima in. But what would the story be without our cute little deadly storm trooper?**

**Response to Chika Hoshi: Many other people have wondered the same thing. But yes, she is exactly that kind. But Rima set her straight. Thanks for the info about the name. If I allow Rima to have the baby, and if it's a girl, I'm probably gonna name her after you ;). What do you think of Hoshiko? You know, derived from Hoshi? I like it, but you're the God momma (or just the namer-person), so you decide. It will indeed be fun to look up the Kanji. I love researching for my story. Such a time-killer.**

**Response to xXRimaxNagiXx: It kills me to think that the last time updated this story was back in November. Oh, I suck. But nevermind, let me get back to replying to your review. Hmmm... Yes, yes, it seems as if Rima's parents did mistake Nagi for the father of her child. She had to lie to get out of it, but just as Nagi said, lying isn't for winners. It's obviously gonna come back to bite her in the butt. Poor girl.**

**Response to xXxGothicButterflySpiritxXx: You know how Tadase-kun is. Of course he's gonna take responsibility. And I don't care that you haven't reviews the story, as long as you're reading it. I'm not gonna hunt you down in the night if you don't review! LOL! Hell, if people could do that, I'd already be dead for not updating in forever. Anyway, I'm here now.**

**Response to bma925: I... don't know what to say to that. I really don't. If you want some answers, please go up and read my response to xXRimaxNagiXx. Thanks for the review.**

**Haruna: We really appreciate you guys for not abandoning us!**

**Kanon: It makes us feel all special and warm outside.**

**Haruna: Despite how weird and creepy that sounds, yes. Yes, it does.**

**Kanon: LOL. **

**Haruna: Don't forget to favorite, review, and subsribe us to your alerts!**


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